


of phoenixes and uprisings

by GemoDawn



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Flirting, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Saving the World, Slow Burn, lots of flirting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-02-15 12:40:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 33,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13031331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemoDawn/pseuds/GemoDawn
Summary: Finnor Lamaedir, a high elf cleric of questionable faith, is taken as a prisoner of the Drow, the dark elves of the Underdark. Weeks later, he gets a cellmate who introduces himself as Vax'ildan, the rogue who believes his sister to have been slain during his own capture. Finn nor Vax'ildan could never have imagined what hardships awaited them. Nor could Finn have imagined how close of a friend Vax'ildan could become.





	1. grave danger brewing

**Author's Note:**

> The timelines for the twins are weird here but I've improvised for this to be somewhere in an odd time where Vox Machina weren't completely Vox Machina, possibly during the time Greyskull Keep was being built. I've taken the liberties of muddling with some events here and there to make the story work so I apologize to anyone that gets miffed at any point I get something with the timeline regarding canon events wrong. This is mostly a fic for my enjoyment over anything else.
> 
> As for Finn, he is my own D&D character that I've had the pleasure of playing with for roughly over a year now and through a couple different home campaigns. He's a character I enjoy deeply and found that the idea of him meeting Vex and Vax very interesting simply because their personalities seem to foil one another nicely imo.
> 
> Anyway that's enough of me rambling on. Enjoy my self indulgence.

Finnor Lamaedir couldn’t think of a  _ single _ place that he hated more than this one, right here and right now. Especially concerning the particular circumstances that led him to this single moment in time, arms bound and quite the uncomfortable and cold surface beneath his ass. He had a single strand of stray, red hair that decided it would pester his vision every now and then, the lack of his free hands unable to permanently fix such a problem.

Anyhow, he was certain it complimented the rest of his, no doubt, absolute mess of a mane. It was probably clumped with bits of dirt and grime-- things he really didn’t care to think of at the moment. The freckles on his face were probably obscured by the the grime as well, his clothes and armor, once fine and quite expensive, now sat tattered and probably worth next to nothing at this point.

All in all, this was completely shit. And he had the Drow to thank for this. The fucking  **_Drow_ ** .

The manacles around his wrists clinked in place as some nearby footsteps alerted him, a Drow guard coming to his cell to insert a key in a loud display. Finn’s brows perked and if he weren’t currently chained to the wall of this cold and dark cell, he’d probably be right up at that door and attempting to squeeze his way out.

So all he could settle for was watching as the guard unlocked the door, swung it open, and a few more figures came shuffling along.

“Hey! Dark and broody!” FInn called out, leaning forward a bit. “Wanna feel a little better ‘bout yourself, do a good deed, and set me free? I could send a good word about you to Ghaunadaur! We’re pretty tight, y’know. Could hook you up with some divine goodies.”

“ _ Sris iv, vrassae buae! _ ” the guard shouted at him in Drow, a tongue Finn was, unfortunately, not accustomed to. The very familiar sensation of his muscles tensing and locking into place washed over him as the Drow casted his magic onto Finn. He always hated this part.

“ _ Ficd ukk! _ ” Finn shouted back as best he could through frozen lips, one of the select few Drow phrases he’d learned during his time in captivity here. A very useful and very appropriate:  _ ‘fuck off’. _

Finn was certain that he heard the guard spit before the other figures stepped into the cell. From what Finn could make out, it was two more guards flanking a hooded figure, pulling him (forcefully) over to the wall to Finn’s right and chaining him to the restraints there. Another prisoner.

His cellmate didn’t say a word, the Drow guards now moving out of the cell and locking it once more with a resounding and damning  _ clink.  _ A few moments later, Finn could feel his muscles become his own again as the spell thankfully faded. He rolled his shoulders.

“Oh good,” Finn sighed heavily, speaking under his breath. “I was wondering when I’d get a roommate.”

Several long moments passed,  _ awkward  _ moments at that, where Finn wasn’t sure if he should try to speak with this fellow or not. Even in his darkvision, he couldn’t quite make this one out. Not that he was sure even with full bright light in here he could either, this fellow prisoner seemed to be wearing a hood still.

Deciding to just take the damn leap of communication faith, Finn cleared his throat before beginning, “They got you too, eh?”

The figure moved only minutely, seeming to look over in Finn’s direction before he returned his head down. Yet more silence passed. Finn grew a bit antsy.

“Alright, I get it, you’re not much of a talker,” Finn went on. “But you’re the first person I’ve gotten any extended contact with in weeks and--”

“ _ Weeks? _ ” Finally a response. Sounded like a man, quite a smooth tone of voice as well. “You’ve been stuck down here that long?”

Finn’s eyebrows raised slightly, “Yeah, afraid so. Welcome to the party. At least you’re fashionably late.”

Another moment passed as the other man muttered something to himself, words Finn couldn’t quite make out. And then he grew quiet again.

“I think we might be stuck in here together for a while so in the desire to have some sort of civility, my name’s Finnor Lamaedir. But you can just call me Finn.”

“Vax’ildan,” the man responded. “Tell me, you’re an elf as well, aren’t you?”

“Already getting personal, are we?” Finn played. “Yes, I am. Definitely not an elf like the bastards that threw us in here, though. Think I’d kill myself if I was. Why though? What’s so important about that?”

The clinking of chains filled the room as Vax’ildan moved, seeming to situate himself to face Finn more properly, “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Were there others that were captured along with you?” Vax’ildan asked, seeming as though he was following a trail of thought. “Or was it just you at the time those weeks ago?”

Finn wasn’t entirely sure what this man was getting at but he supposed he’d humor him, if only to keep a conversation going, “Far as I was able to see it was just me. Figured that I’d done something to offend the edgy elves and that I’ve been stuck down here, awaiting some sort of trial or whatever. None of them will answer me when I ask them anything which is why I said you’re the first one I’ve gotten to talk with in practically forever.”

Vax’ildan seemed to sigh, humming a bit in thought before he moved to slip his hood off his head. From what little Finn cold make out, the man had long, dark hair, pulled back into a ponytail with a few strands loose around his ears and forehead. His nose held a small point to it and his ears, while not as long as Finn’s, were pointed. Half-elf, more than likely, but an elf nonetheless.

“From what I could gather, it seems like the Drow are gathering elves of all kinds and imprisoning them,” Vax’ildan went on, sounding inquisitive. “For what, I don’t know, but there are a lot of elves here.  _ A lot. _ ”

Finn frowned, “You saw them? They must be getting sloppy. When they brought me in, they blinded me so I couldn’t see shit. I was minding my own business in Drumchapel before they showed up at the tavern and attacked me, apprehending me. Next thing I know I woke up being shackled to this cell.”

“Attacking you in a tavern already sounds pretty sloppy if you ask me,” the other elf muttered, somewhat in disdain.

A small moment of silence passed between them before Finn was speaking up once more, “What about you? How’d they get you?”

Yet still, more silence passed, so much so it was to the point that Finn wondered if he just hadn’t heard the question or had passed out. He was about to ask again when Vax’ildan finally answered, his voice holding a sense of pain and difficulty.

“My sister, her companion bear, and I were out on a job. We’re basically mercenaries for hire from time to time. It pays and that’s all that matters in the end,” Vax’ildan explained plainly. “The job seemed.. Strange to begin with. I won’t bore you with the details, but we had to recover a relic of some kind and it brought us to Westruun, a place we’ve had some not so nice dealings with in the past. It was just past sunset when they attacked us.”

Quiet contemplation filtered past the half-elf’s lips, his expression, from what Finn could make out in the darkness, was hard as he stared a hole into the stone floor.

He opened his mouth to begin again, “First, my sister’s bear fell. She was distraught and it distracted her long enough that-- they took her down as well. I grew careless as I watched her body fall to the ground, motionless. I saw nothing but the deepest of red in my rage of the moment. I don’t recall a lot of what happened after that, unfortunately. I woke up in shackles, being dragged through entirely unfamiliar surroundings, seeing elves upon elves beside me, all chained like animals.”

Finn’s lips pressed hard against one another as he recounted what had to be a difficult story. A story that he was certain Vax’ildan wasn’t likely to repeat very often from this day forth.

A careful and deep breath moved through Finn’s nose before he was exhaling just as slowly, words finding him again, “I’m.. sorry you had to go through that. I, apparently, had a brother myself but he died before I was even born. I can’t claim to begin to know your pain but you have my sympathies, Vax’ildan.”

“Thank you,” he responded a bit bluntly, his tone growing rough and dark. “And apologies, Finn, but your sympathy doesn’t mean all that much to me. Revenge and finding out just what the fuck these sons of bitches think they’re doing, killing and trapping elves, will mean much, much more to me.”

Finn scoffed at that, moving the shackles around his wrists a bit as example, “And you don’t think I’d love to have that too? How, exactly, do you propose this revenge happens when we’re practically conjoined twins with these walls?”

It was impossible to even see, but Vax’ildan’s features winced the moment he mentioned the word  _ ‘twins’ _ , but made no comment of it.

“If you’ve got a plan, halfie, I would love to hear it,” Finn went on once more, leaning in a more resigned nature against the wall. “Because believe you me, I’m as clever as they come and I’ve tried and thought up all the possible ways to get out of here. For weeks, mind you. And look how far that’s gotten me.”

Vax’ildan gave out a bitter laugh, “Then you must not be clever enough. Every cage has its lock and locks can be picked and broken.”

“Then you’re welcome to try, Vaxy boy,” Finn also laughed, though his laughter was much more amused then Vax’ildan’s was. “If you make any kind of headway then give me a shout. Otherwise we’ve got a lot of time to do a whole lot of fuck all.”

 

* * *

 

Minutes turned into hours and hours turned into days. Two, to be exact. Vax (a shortened version of the other elf’s name that he didn’t mind and Finn quite preferred at that) had been endless in his attempts to figure out a solution to their current predicament. But try as he might, there seemed to be little to no possible way out of this one.

Finn had filled Vax in on more of the dirty details. They got two meals a day, there was only a single bucket to relieve themselves into (an enthralling and bonding experience every single time), and, most importantly, there was some kind of anti-magic field surrounding the cell. But only, as Finn informed Vax, when the guards weren’t around.

“Haven’t you tried casting anything when the guards come around?” Vax asked as he finished relieving himself.

Finn sighed, “We’ve been over this; they always cast hold person on me when they come in. I mean, they’ve done it to you too, remember? Say I cast something-- then what? I’m immediately unable to move and they’d probably just kill me right away for casting. It’s not a very smart move unless you’re fond of getting killed.”

“But that was when it was  _ just  _ you,” Vax went on, speaking as though he was onto a brilliant thought. And he sounded convinced enough that maybe he was. “Do you have any sort of spells that could get rid of these chains?”

Considering it carefully, Finn went over his knowledge of arcane spells, trying to recall if there was anything helpful in that regard. And there was one, just one, that could possibly work.

“I might could work heat the metal to make them easier to break,” Finn shrugged as he offered out the words. He frowned a bit, however. “But I’ve got nowhere near the strength to bend metal, even when it’s hot. Also, yes, hello, HEAT. METAL. When metal is hot, it burns. Hot metal that burns  _ hurts _ .”

Vax was scoffing, “Don’t be such a pussy.”

“Look, I’m a cleric, not a barbarian or a warrior,” Finn went on. “I can’t imagine you’re much stronger than me either, Vax.”

For the first time in all the past two days Vax had been stuck in the same cell as Finn, he laughed hard and very, very genuinely. It even took a few seconds of solid laughter before his laughing finally began to subside.

“Hold on, hold on,” he tried to gather his breath, the chains clinking as he settled back against the wall. “You’re a cleric? Really? You? Just about everything about you screams otherwise. I can’t see you hunkering down in a temple, clasping your hands together under some holy symbol and praying your days away.”

Finn scoffed a bit, “Then you’ve got a very closed mind about clerics, halfie. We’re not all robe-wearing, softly-praying priests. Not to mention, I’m not entirely sure you know everything about me anyhow. You don’t even know the half of it.”

“With the way you talk and talk, I’d beg to differ,” Vax chuckled, the words bouncing. He allowed his voice to settle once more, the very faint image of a smile on his face. “Then enlighten me, father Finn. What exactly is it that makes you such a man of faith?”

“Maybe don’t call me  _ ‘father Finn’ _ ever again and I might tell you,” the cleric said, a little less than amused. “In fact, I think we’re straying a bit off topic here, don’t you think?”

With that, Vax turned back to face the wall, his fingers moving over the chains that were his restraints, jangling them around a bit as he did so. He leaned in, seeming to be examining them like they were the most interest specimen in the room. Well, for this moment, they certainly were.

“Think I’ve got an idea,” Vax muttered, turning then to look back at Finn. “How long does it take to cast Heat Metal and can you control where you cast it?”

Finn raised his eyebrows as he thought this over, chewing on his lower lip a bit before answering, “Hhm, takes just about a minute. And controlling it? Generally, yes. So long as I can see what exactly it is I’m casting it on.”

“One minute,” Vax hummed, pausing for a short moment. “That’s.. Not ideal. But if we distracted the guards long enough… You could heat the metal of my chains, not the manacles themselves. Soon as they’re hot enough to bend, throw some kind of magicy thing their way, I’ll break the chains, swoop in on the fuckers and take them out.”

Finn was maybe a little impressed at the ingenuity going on, he had to give him some credit there. Yet…

“There’s a lot wrong with that plan,” Finn stated flatly. “I like the enthusiasm, don’t get me wrong, but how do you know you could break the chains in time before they activate their hold person shit? They’re assholes but they’re not stupid. Soon as they know anything funky is going down they’ll probably more than likely kill us. And what’re you going to do? Punch them out?”

“Well they haven’t killed us yet,” the other elf offered. A very good point. “So unless we want to keep wasting away down here I’d suggest we try something. I’ve got daggers waiting to be shoved right up their asses. Many,  **_many_ ** daggers.”

It was easy to forget about the whole dead sister thing for Vax. He never talked about it much beyond the first day he was thrown into this cell. Not that Finn could blame him; losing a sibling that you’re close to-- losing anyone that you’re close to can’t be easy. Hell, Finn lost someone he wasn’t close to at all and he still beats himself up about it to this day. He can’t even imagine how Vax feels.

Before the silence could stretch on for too long, the sound of footsteps began to fill the air, the arrival of the guards a little earlier than usual. It seemed to catch Finn off guard, maybe more so than Vax who was still adjusting to this lifestyle. But Vax was right on top of it the moment he heard the first footfall.

“Finn,” Vax hissed in a quick whisper. “My chains, cast it, cast it  _ now! _ ”

Finn bit at his tongue as he moved to face Vax much more quickly, knowing this was the absolute worst idea, but it had to be worth a shot. The anti magic field definitely seemed to be alleviated as the guards grew closer, and it felt oddly soothing to be casting magic again. Or at least attempting to.

With as fluid motions as he could muster between his chained hands, Finn swirled his fingers in a movement that beckoned the power within him, calling forth arcane energies that focused into something burning and hot and melting. He looked to the chains attached to Vax’s arms, focusing as intently as he could on them within the very dim light of his adjusted eyes.

The steps grew closer still and just barely the chains began to turn red, slowly melding into a yellow. It was working but a single minute felt like hours, the guards already at the door and beginning to unlock it.

So, so damn badly Finn wanted to pull out the  _ ‘I told you so’ _ card, but he couldn’t. His body seized itself into a paralysis, fingers caught in the incriminating act of casting, Vax’s own position no more innocent.

“ _ Wros du aeui sremd aeui’ra duems?! _ ” the first guard spat in anger, holding his hands out and seeming to be the one casting the spell on both Finn and Vax.

As they approached, Finn growled between his frozen lips, the same exact foul curse in Drow he’d been doing for weeks.

The other guard stepped closer, glaring Finn’s direction, “ _ Yui sremd aeui’ra krae amuisr su coks kosec omd sas ovoae vesr es? _ ”

If Finn could speak right now, he’d have the best comeback to ever comeback, he swore on Olidammara.

Just as the guards grew too close for comfort, the sound of a sharp female voice stung the air, calling out in a very commanding tone, “ _ Emuisr! _ ”

Immediately, the sight of a figure came slipping through the doorway of the cell, a small and petite figure of a Drow woman dressed in quite the decorated armor stepped through. In one hand, she held a staff, the form of a swirling dragon at the top clutching an opaque white ball in its talons, her silver hair done up in quite the elegant braids as some fell down as far as the small of her back. Finn’s eyes immediately met with hers, their yellow hues studying first him then the other prisoner with a strange sort of disdain and disgust within them.

The woman turned to each of the guards then, using a much quieter yet still stern voice, “ _ Traae ora vors uk sra maxs boscr, aeui yerr ms rork srak. Umdarksuud? _ ”

“ _ Yak, Samaror _ ,” both guards replied simultaneously, but not backing up whatsoever.

“ _ Brems srak orums. Gamsrae _ ,” she went on before quickly turning to leave the cell, lingering just outside its doorway.

Finn really, really,  **REALLY** wished that he spoke this Drow shit. Maybe then he could have some sort of guess as to what the hell was even going on. He could only ascertain that this woman must’ve been some sort of commander of the guards.  _ Great. _

Following her words, the guards moved forward, unlatching both of them from the walls and seeming to be preparing them for transference of some kind. With very little difficulty, they began dragging both of the elves’ forms out of the cell, the spell paralyzing them still very much in effect.

Pushing against the mental and physical barrier of this spell was all Finn could do at the moment, trying his hardest to shake it off. But the spell was strong. Really strong. He’d been in this kind of spell before, but this was a magnified version of this spell. It had to be. And it was driving him insane.

For just a moment, his eyes met Vax’s and within his eyes, he could see an anger and fire he couldn’t have even imagined was possible, something so visible within such little light.

“I would bet you wish to know why you are here and where you are going,” the same female voice from before spoke, this time in the Common tongue.  _ Much  _ better. Though her accent was strong, matching that of the accent the Drow language seemed to hold.

“Rhat ruuld wee icee,” Finn just barely managed to get the words out from his lungs, truly a task considering he couldn’t move his lips or his tongue for that matter.

She just laughed, a buoyant and bouncy laugh, “I am sorry, my dear.” Suddenly, Finn could see her coming up to walk beside him, smiling at him with an eerily warm smile. “I am afraid I cannot understand you. Alas, I am one for anticipation and surprise. And so anticipation you shall wait in for the surprise ahead.”

Moving farther ahead, she came to step beside Vax, leaning forward a bit, closer towards his face. She reached out with her free hand, brushing it down Vax’s cheek, “Oh, my sweet little half-elf. You are the one that fought so hard against us, no? So hard and with  _ such  _ vigor your sister even lost her life because of it?”

Even Finn could hear how much stronger Vax’s breathing was growing, the soft growls of just barely concealed anger within his throat. She’d just made things a whole hell of a lot more personal.

“Perhaps if only you twins had come quietly instead, only the bear would have perished,” the Drow sighed, feigning sadness. “After all, we want as many good elves as we can get.”

Almost playfully, the woman brought her hand up to cover her mouth, gasping in surprise as if she’d revealed something accidentally, “Oops! I have spoken too much, it seems. Pardon me. And apologies, little one, for taking your sister’s life. I am sure you miss her greatly.”

Thankfully, silence filled the rest of the way to, well… Wherever it was they were being dragged. Finn’s muscles were beginning to ache and he was more than certain Vax’s were as well. How much more of this did they have to endure?

In but a moment’s notice, the sight of a blinding portal opened up before them, something that seemed incredibly casual to the guards and the woman. So much so they did not even miss a step, continuing through as though it were the norm. A sense of dizziness overcame Finn that lasted not but a second or two before it passed and their surroundings had changed. And what he saw before them was utterly horrifying beyond words.

Rows and rows and rows, lines and lines and lines, shackles and malnourished-looking elves. The room offered just a little more light than that of the cell Finn had become so accustomed to, but it was huge, several lanterns providing any kind of light. It was almost like a stadium of sorts, large enough to fit, possibly, an entire small village within. The circular and curving walls rose a good twenty feet before they created a landing, there upon which many, many Drow were walking along. Some were conversing with one another, others were watching the display of the many other elves below in what could only be called a pit.

If Finn’s eyes could widen, they absolutely would at this moment. Vax wasn’t kidding about the vast amount of elves. And while he believed him, it was hard to believe  **_this_ ** scale. They all looked to be prisoners, not unlike slaves, all standing there in miserable lines like they were waiting to be bought.

Shit. That couldn’t be it, could it? Sold into slavery? But  _ this  _ magnitude of elves? There had to be hundreds, maybe a thousand or more.

Vax was pushed ahead of Finn to the nearest line of elves and shackled into said line, the paralysis on his body seeming to fade at the same time. In that moment, he quickly whirled around to try and no doubt find the woman that had taunted him, but when Finn was released from the spell and turned to look himself, she was nowhere to be found.

Both Finn and Vax were forced, quite roughly, to stand facing ahead, linking their chains up to the elves ahead of them.

“ _ What the hell is happening? _ ” Vax whispered, almost more in shock than in trying to remain quiet. He then hissed, “ _ What the  _ **_fuck_ ** _ is this?! _ ”

“I don’t know,” Finn muttered back as his shackles were attached to a chain that wrapped around he half elf’s waist and met at the back of Vax. “But this is bad. Really…  **_Really_ ** bad.”

“ELVES!  _ Yui roqa baam crukam! _ ”

More of the same language Finn had been hearing for the past few weeks met his ears in a loud boom that filled the entire room. All the prisoners looked up in the same direction, directly to their north sat a raised platform with a large chair. Before that chair stood a Drow man, very built with long and flowing silver hair, a large broadsword clinging to his back, and a very powerful and booming voice. Beside him was the same woman that had taunted them just moments prior.

As he spoke, however, his language had suddenly become Common, “You are all of lesser descent! But that will be your burden no longer! Today is the very day… You will all become a part of something greater! Something bolder!  **SOMETHING STRONGER!!** ”

His voice echoed throughout the room, commanding the attention of everyone within range of his strong reverberation. As the last of his words echoed, a sight that was truly disturbing crawled out from behind the large, throne-like chair. The giant and gruesome body of a black tarantula clung to the chair and where its head should have been was a woman, bare breasted, long and flowing black hair with curling black horns atop her head and stark, pale skin.

Much of the chained elves recoiled back in horror, but not Finn. Finn immediately began looking for exits, trying to think of a plan of escape, finding something,  _ ANYTHING  _ that could be a viable plan. But, alas, there was very little to nothing.

He took a quick breath, looking down and around to Vax’s chain. Perhaps it would be possibly to use his magic to try heating the metal once more. But if he were to, somehow, resume freeing Vax… How could he be certain that Vax would free him as well?

True, they had been stuck with each other for two, maybe three days at best. And in that time they had a lot of hours to fill with nothing but conversation. While Vax hadn’t been the most talkative throughout, Finn felt as though there had to be at least some kind of  _ something  _ between them to sway Vax enough to not just leave him. At least, he had to hope.

The sudden groaning and screaming consuming the group of captive elves then garnered his attention as he looked ahead, seeing something that was possibly more terrifying than the abomination crawling along the throne ahead. Slowly but surely, it seemed that each row of elves were being put through a process that turned their skin a dark and sickly hue of green then blue then slowly to complete and utter blackness.

The coloration was unnatural, not too far off from the Drow’s own color of skin. Holy shit. Were they turning them all into Drow? Was that even  _ possible?! _

In the confusion of the moment, it was hard to gather, but they had an ally on their side. Someone that neither Finn nor, especially, Vax could have ever guessed. The only thing that brought the attention away from the turning of the elves was a large explosion, the flames and smoke alike curling about where the large Drow man had shouted at them along with the spider entity. Soon enough, the upper platform was engulfed in smoke, a new panic set into the crowd by the explosion.

So much was happening at once; more explosions began to fill the room, Finn not even sure that this was part of the whole demonstration. As an explosion became dangerously close to his left, he could feel himself recoiling from it, many of the elves around falling to the ground and his hearing was pierced with a high pitched ringing.

It was confusion and chaos, the smoke of the fire and explosion filling Finn’s lungs as he began to cough rough and hard to free his airway. He tried to bring up his hands to cover his mouth but he felt a tug on the chains that bound his hands, tugging him to the ground as Vax himself fell forward.

Screams and shouts alike fell through the aftermath of the explosions. It felt as though there were hundreds of them and Finn was worried that maybe he’d be completely deaf for the rest of his life.

In the swelling terror and chaos of the moment, it took Finn several long moments before he realized he was being tugged up, his shackles still being attached to Vax’s form. It was then he realized that Vax was pulling him up.

“Come on!”

That's all the prompting Finn needed. And he was running, following Vax as the entire room began to scatter, many of the elves still being attached to one another and unable to run anywhere. Finn didn't question just how he and Vax were moving, but he didn't need to. Running ahead of them, guiding them both to a jagged hold into the nearby wall, was a cloaked figure that was sprinting ahead.

Shouts trailed behind them, the sound of a woman's voice calling out to both of them, “Keep going!”

Finn’s lungs burst in waves as he sprinted, the action made a little more difficult by the fact that his hands were still bound and attached to Vax, but he kept up well enough. He’d lost track of how long they’d been running, simply just following the figure ahead of them and not looking back.

The tunnel they were in looked to be smoother than the entrance, leading Finn to belive this entire building was possibly a network of tunnels, a few passageways leading away to their left and right at times. But they simply ignored them all, just running straight ahead at a sprinting pace.

Slowly but surely the chaos had died down behind them, due in most part to the distance they had gained away from the terror dome. Finn’s legs began to burn when finally, with heavy pants, the woman ahead of them began to slow.

Thankful for the break, Finn found himself taking in deep and long breaths trying to steady himself as he clasped his knees. He let out a long exhale before speaking, “What… the hell… was  **_that?!_ ** ”

Looking back up, Finn could see the figure ahead of them reaching over to their arm and pulling out what looked to be a crossbow bolt. She winced audibly before tossing it to the ground in a smaller clatter.

“Who are you? Why help us?” Vax asked curiously, stepping closer and tugging Finn along with him by just a touch.

The woman took a deep breath before turning around to face Finn and Vax, her hands coming up to grab at the hood of her cloak. With just another moment of hesitation she pulled it back, revealing, to what Finn could make out, an elven woman with fair skin and long dark hair, braided into a ponytail draping down her left shoulder. In her hair sat a couple of feathers and, from what Finn could make out, strikingly similar features to Vax.

She smiled, perhaps a tentative and slow smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“Vex’ahlia…?” Vax muttered, sounding breathless and taken by complete surprise. He didn’t move a single inch, simply watching her in what Finn could only make out as stunned silence.

Only a moment more passed before he was reaching forward, bringing her tightly into his arms. The contact remained motionless for a few seconds before Vex’ahlia returned the embrace.

“I’m sorry, Vax,” she muttered against the fabric of Vax’s cloak.

“You have got nothing to apologize for, sister,” Vax reassured her, pulling away just slightly to look at her, hands cusping either side of her face. “Especially not now that you’ve just saved my ass.”

“I got reckless,” Vex’ahlia admitted, sounding as though it pained her to admit something like that. “I’m just glad I got to you in time. What-- what was  _ happening  _ back there?”

Finn stepped forward a bit, clearing his throat as he did so, “Right, so, this is incredibly touching and Vax, believe me, I’m happy your sister’s alive and well. Even moreso because she saved us but, uh…” He brought up the shackles around his wrists, the chains sliding against one another noisily. “Could you get these off me?”

Vex’ahlia immediately turned her attention to the red-headed elf, raising an eyebrow at him as though she just now noticed his presence. She stepped back just slightly, crossing her arms as she did so, “Vax, darling-- who’s your friend?”

“Oh, right,” Vex turned before realizing he was still attached to Finn, stopping before tugging Finn too far. “It’s a long story but this is Finn. I’ve been stuck in a cell with him the past few days.”

Finn frowned a bit, “Don’t say that like it was a terrible thing, I’m hardly the worst person to be trapped in a cell with.”

Seeming to ignore Finn, Vex turned her eyes over to her brother, brow still cocked, “Do you trust him?”

The other elf seemed to ponder this for just a second longer than Finn could’ve ever been appreciative of before he gave a small shrug, “He’s given me no real reason to distrust him--”

“Don’t you think we’ve got bigger problems to worry about rather than just how  _ trustworthy  _ I am?” Finn interrupted, sounding a tad offended. “I get it, we just met, etcetera etcetera, but I’m much more interested in getting the hell out of here than stabbing either of you in the back.”

Vex narrowed her eyes a bit, “You say that as though stabbing us in the back is an option on the table, at the very least.”

With a heavy sigh, Finn shook his head, “Look, the longer we sit here the bigger chance we have at getting caught. I can’t do much with these chains if it comes to the point we’ll have to fight our way out. So unless you’d like to be dragging me around the entire time, I’d suggest just getting these off.”

Both of the siblings looked to one another for a short moment before Vax was nodding, a silent conversation being shared between the two. Finn looked from one to the other before Vex was huffing, pulling a small vial out of the pouch at her side and popping off the cork. It was a green viscous liquid that seemed to glow all its own as she poured it onto the chains that connected the two elves.

Finn watched as the liquid quickly ate through the metal, dissolving it before it disconnected, freeing Finn. Well, mostly. The cuffs were still around his wrists but he thankfully had full movement of his hands again, something that he hadn’t had in weeks.

“ **_Thank_ ** you,” Finn said appreciatively yet pointedly, moving to look at their surroundings in more detail.

“Where the fuck are we?” Vax was asking, looking to his sister for some kind of answer.

She simply shook her head, “Honestly? I’m not entirely sure.”

Finn looked at her with slight bewilderment, “ _ You don’t know?! _ Then how did you even get here?!”

Vex’ahlia sighed, “It’s a really long story that I’d love to tell you soon as we get out of here. There’s a portal that’ll bring us back to Westruun but we haven’t got long before it closes.”

“Wait,” Vax began, clasping his sister on the shoulder. “All those people out there, you saw them. We can’t just  _ leave  _ them. Something bad is going on here and it would not sit well on my conscience if we didn’t at least try to stop it.”

As Finn was messing with the manacles around his wrists, he chimed in, “If you ask me, I think we might be at a huge disadvantage here. I’m not a fan of whatever the hell was happening back there, but I also don’t think we’re going to do much on our own.”

“Speak for yourself, Finn,” Vex opposed, tone strong. “My brother and I are more capable than you could ever imagine.”

“I can see that worked out real well for you so far,” Finn responded sarcastically. “What with you nearly dying and Vax getting caught anyway. Consider me convinced.”

Vex narrowed her eyes his way, “You weren’t there. Don’t talk like you were.”

“How does this portal work exactly, Vex’ahlia? Is there no way to delay it?” Vax swiftly cut in, trying to dissuade the growing tension.

Vex’s eyes lingered on Finn for a moment longer before she returned her gaze to Vax, “No, I’m afraid not. Heldore, the sorcerer that’s responsible for the portal in the first place, told me it’s only got enough power to stay open for no longer than a couple hours. It’s already been one since I’ve gotten here and found you and-- Finn.”

“So you’re telling me we’ve got an hour, roughly,” Vax’s tone seemed to perk up slightly, sounding just a touch hopeful.

Both Vex and Finn seemed to be catching onto just what Vax had in mind and something told Finn that Vex would be way more obliging than Finn in that moment.

“Yes, but…” Vex finally answered, trailing off a bit worriedly as she crossed her arms. “What’re you suggesting here, Vax?”

“A little recon, at the very least,” he answered hurriedly. “To know what exactly we’re dealing with here. There were a lot of elves back there, enough to make an army, and I think that’s  _ exactly  _ what was happening.”

“Well the longer we stay here talking about it, the less time we have,” Finn cut in, trying to speed up the conversation. “How far is the portal from here?”

Vex shrugged a bit, “Not far. But whatever you’re doing, Vax, I’ll be with you.”

“Then let’s see what we can see.”

And with that last word, Vax was moving ahead of both his sister and Finn, leaving both watching as he slunk off, moving into the shadows of the dimly lit tunnel. Both elves looked to one another, Vex giving Finn a distrustful glance.

“I want you ahead of me where I can always see,” Vex said with narrowed eyes as she reached back to pull out her bow, notching an arrow as she did so. “Nothing funny, Finn.”

In return, Finn simply raised his brows and gave a quick and pleasant smile, “Yes ma’am.” And as he began walking forward, as quietly as possible, his smile immediately fell for a scowl.

Several long and awkwardly quiet moments passed as they traversed the tunnel, Vax still nowhere in sight. It was almost like Finn could just feel the pointy end of Vex’s arrow digging into his back. As if he would simply run away or try to backstab the very woman that held the key to escaping this hellhole.

The tunnel was.. Odd. Something that Finn had never seen before, the architecture somehow just slightly off from what a normal tunnel should have looked like. Then again, maybe he’d just been trapped in a cell for so long he even forgot what a damn tunnel was supposed to look like. Not entirely unlikely.

“So who’s this Heldore that help you get here?” Finn spoke through a quick whisper back at the elven woman.

For a few short moments he was greeted with silence before she answered, “A dragonborn friend, let’s leave it at that.”

Her answer was guarded and quick, making it very obvious that she didn’t want to talk. And luckily for her, Vax suddenly came slinking into view, holding his hand up to halt their sneaking. Finn even jumped a bit. Where the hell did he come from?

“ _ Hold on, _ ” Vax whispered, his voice carrying as cleanly as a breeze. “There’s a fork up ahead with two guards. I can’t take them out-- I don’t have my blades.”

“Allow me,” Finn smirked as he inched along farther without waiting for a response, past Vax and peeked around the corner to see said two guards Vax mentioned. 

Drawing on what energies Finn had, he called upon the magical forces within him, closing his eyes as he directed it into a concentrated source. The cleric’s fingers twitched slightly as he began stepping around the corner. Both guards were yet to notice him as he approached, moving his hands across one another before pointing them outward. He stopped, stretching them forward, and releasing the memetic magical energies towards each guard.

He could feel his aura reach theirs, tying around their minds and immediately garnering their attention. He trapped one to his whim, the other fighting for only a moment or two before giving in as well. Now they were both under his command.

“Perfect,” Finn grinned, the sapping of magical energy from his form evident, especially with the lack of care for his health the past weeks, but this was doable.

Once it was clear the guards were looking in their direction but not attacking, Vex was the first to speak, “What did you do to them?”

“I’ve dominated them, that’s what,” Finn said proudly, perhaps even a bit smugly. Oh but he did like to show off when he could. He turned his attention back to the guards as he approached closer. “Do either of you speak, well.. Common?”

“Aye,” one of them answered, his accent not nearly as thick as he was expecting.

“Good!” Finn chimed, making sure his concentration remained taut on the spell holding them. “Vax, ask them whatever you wanna know and quick-- I can’t hold this spell forever.”

The soft and swift sounds of Vax’s feet approaching came to Finn’s left, his voice following not a moment later, “What’s going on here and why are there so many captured elves?”

“Ranaghar needs them to eliminate the lower races, make the Drow dominant again,” the same guard that answered before responded, his voice a bit monotone and forced. “He will turn them all or destroy them. There is no other option.”

Finn’s brows knit together as he looked over at Vax then to his sister as she approached closer, her bow still at the ready for a moment’s notice. Considering this new information, Vax took a careful breath.

“Who is Ranaghar?” Vax asked, voice now gravely serious.

“The general to Lilith’s army; he commands us under Lilith’s name and we must follow.”

Vax growled a bit under his breath, “Dammit, why did I have to be right…”

Vex then stepped closer, speaking quickly, “Where exactly are we right now?”

The second guard turned to look over towards Vex, the magic keeping control over his mind and body seeming to waver for just a moment as he attempted to fight it. But Finn readjusted, keeping his hold as best he could.

The guard’s brows furrowed for just a second before his face grew clear once more, “We are in the Earthroot. You walk the society of Undrek-Thoz in the city of Ulathin.”

“What was the creepy as shit spider lady?” Finn found himself asking next, the image of that creature still very clear in his mind.

Both of the guards looked at him blankly, offering only silence. The only thing that broke that silence then was a large tremor that shot through the passageway, rocking it for a few short seconds. It startled Finn, nearly making him lose whatever concentration he had on the spell keeping the guards in check.

“Shit,” Finn winced as silence surrounded them once more. He was quick to regain whatever semblance of control he could before sighing. He looked to the guards intently, gaining their attentions. “Both of you are going to run. Run out there and try to kill Ranaghar, Lilith, or whoever the fuck is trying to raise an army. Run and don’t look back.”

Suddenly, without even a single nod of affirmation, both guards were turning and running down the path until it took a right and their footsteps slowly disappeared into the distance, no longer audible.

Finn sighed, feeling his energy being drained even more as he turned to Vax, “Happy with your recon? Can we go to the portal now?”

Vax pursed his lips tightly, looking off towards where the guards ran, before he growled a bit, “There’s  **_got_ ** to be something we can do..”

“I told you before, there’s nothing we could do here even if we wanted to,” Finn urged, growing a bit frustrated. Certainly his exhaustion didn’t help matters either. “So let’s just-- go to the portal already.”

“I hate to admit it, Vax..” Vex began quietly, a bit begrudging. “But I think Finn’s got a point. We have to get back. Heldore might have some insight on all this. Besides, we’ve got the proper location now and whatever this Ranaghar is going to do. The portal’s going to close soon too.”

Vax seemed to be considering his sister’s words carefully before he gave in with a small sigh, “Alright. But we should not let this go. Lead the way back to the portal, sister.”

Vex gave a small nod and began to lead the way, taking the opposite path that the guards had. Finn kept a close follow, keeping a mental note on how his spell was faring for the guards. Unfortunately, he could feel it beginning to fade.

“The quicker we get the hell out of here, the better,” Finn muttered as they turned another corner. “My spell’s not going to last much longer on those two and if they’re still alive, they’ll lead mister steroids and his army  _ right  _ to us.”

“Calm down, it’s right ahead,” Vex reassured him a bit curtly.

“Wait,” Vax called, both of his companions stopping right then as he stepped ahead, flipping his hood up. “I’ll make sure it’s clear.”

And just like that, once again, he melded with the shadows and was gone, straying ahead silently. Finn raised his brows as he did that for the second time and he had to admit-- he was impressed.

“He always doing that?” Finn asked Vex in a hushed tone, just barely concealing his impressed nature as best as he could.

A small smirk lit up onto the ranger’s face, almost as if she were proud, “Yeah, he does that quite a lot.”

Once again, silence came over the two as they continued on, albeit at a slower pace to give Vax enough time and room to check things out ahead. And it was then that Finn sensed it. The guards had been released from the spell’s hold. Not because they’d died but simply because Finn hadn’t been strong enough to keep the concentration up.

“Aw  _ fuck _ ,” Finn cursed, the words seeming way louder than he’d meant them to be. He stopped suddenly, turning back to look over his shoulder. “Spell’s gone. And they’re probably  _ not  _ happy about having been dominated.”

“Then we need to hurry,” Vex affirmed with a quick nod, quickening her pace. “Vax..?  _ Vax..! _ ”

Her hissing words carried down the dim passageway, nothing but silence greeting them for a few solid seconds before not Vax’s voice came to their ears, but the loud and stomping sounds of heavy footfalls quickly approaching.

“Run!” Finn exclaimed, a word that really needed to go without saying at this point.

Throwing caution and stealth to the wind, both Vex and Finn bolted forward, still no sign of Vax in sight. Which was incredibly worrying. Surely he hadn’t gone  **THAT** far ahead, had he? Not that it mattered in this moment, being chased by whatever the hell and still no portal in sight.

“I thought you said it was close!” Finn shouted between heavy breaths, looking over his shoulder. Nothing yet. But the footsteps were there and gaining as they rounded a corner.

Vex growled, “It is! Close-- _ ish!! _ ”

“Closeish?!” Finn responded, sounding exasperated. “This  **_isn’t_ ** closeish at all!”

The next moments of their haste felt like hours before they finally came to a winding turn with an arched and open doorway at the end of the hallway. And there, standing above the struggling body of Vax, was a Drow swordsman, a shortsword in each hand.

Both Vex and Finn came to a halt, seeing the shimmering portal of purple hues just beyond. But Vex couldn’t care less because all she saw was her brother in a dangerous and deadly situation.

“ _ No!! _ ” Immediately and without hesitation, Vex drew back her bow and released an arrow directly into the chest of the Drow. The arrow struck true, sinking into his leather armor and, judging by his groan of pain, it must’ve hit flesh.

Already, Vex’ahlia was loading up another arrow, pulling it back before releasing it. However, the Drow was ready this time, diving forward with a quickness and speed to his movements, dodging the arrow and going directly towards the two elves.

Although Finn was growing thin on energy, he used what he could quickly muster to cast invisibility on himself and dive to the side of the Drow’s charge. Thankfully, the Drow’s eyes went directly to Vex, throwing the tip of his sword her way and just barely missing as she dodged. It nicked her leg and she cried out in pain as it no doubt sliced flesh. But Finn wasn’t paying attention, instead focusing on the portal ahead.

He was rushing towards it, the end goal, the salvation to this entire nightmare. He didn’t give a shit about any of this. Ranaghar could have his army, he could do what he’d like, Finn already had an escape plan in mind and would run to the farthest reaches of Tal’Dorei where nothing could find him. He had ways of disappearing, some more literal than others. So  _ none  _ of this was his problem.

Finally the portal was just within reach as he came to a halt before it, looking back. And that was his damn mistake. With one arm beginning to reach into the portal, he hesitated, eyes looking back to see Vex just barely fighting off this Drow, bringing up her bow just in time to deflect his first sword but the second struck true. She fell to the ground, now pinned and looking to be in serious trouble.

And then he looked back to Vax’ildan, struggling on the ground to try and get up but it was clearly no use, blood splattering his armor and clothing as he reached out uselessly to try and save Vex. She smacked the Drow swordsman away, but it didn’t deter him. Not even the arrow she was able to sink into his shoulder stopped him and he slashed at her again and again.

Finn growled angrily; fuck his conscience and fuck his good heart. This was going to be  _ way  _ more trouble than it was worth. But dammit he at least owed them for getting him this far. For giving him an escape.

Yet again, Finn dipped within his inner magical strength, dropping invisibility and reaching out to try and hold person on the Drow. It took several moments, in which the man nearly got a few too many hits on Vex, but he stopped him where he stood, in the action of a swing.

“Vex..!  _ Move! _ ” Finn shouted, and just in time she rushed out from underneath his strong presence, scrambling over to Vax where she began trying to assess his wounds in whatever way she could.

Just as she was out of the way, Finn stepped closer, calling forward the burning hot energies of magic within him, conjuring it up into a flame that shot out from his hand. The moment it escaped, a tiny ball of burning energy flew directly towards the enemy. The Drow had movement once again, Finn’s magic growing weaker with every spell he expended. He didn’t have much longer until he would simply pass out, no doubt.

Just before the fireball made contact, there came the same guards from before, all three now seeing the magical orb of fire coming towards them. But it was too late to dodge. The small ball exploded into a large one, a near concussive blast shaking the very foundation and rocking the ground beneath their feet.

Finn knew there was a good chance they were completely vaporized from such an attack but there was also the smallest chance they could’ve survived. And in which case, they all needed to move.

“Vax!  _ Get.. up..!! _ ” Finn called out, exhaustion clear in his tone as he, once more, collected whatever magical energies he could muster.

He called upon the soothing and calming and healing powers within his magical veins, uttering a single string of elven words, “ _ Naln dhirr wuilnr _ .”

A pulse of green and white energy radiated out from Finn, waves of healing forces moving forward rapidly and encasing the siblings in its glow. And as it began to fade, Finn could feel the exhaustion taking him. Despite the healing word spell, his vision was beginning to fade.

Finn was certain that he tried to speak but nothing except mumbles came out before gravity took its toll. He fell backwards into the portal behind him, the dizzying sensation overtaking him before nothing but darkness surrounded him.


	2. omens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're actually interested in reading on in this story, thanks so much! Especially for bookmarking and leaving a kudos. It means a bunch!

When Finn began to come to, he could smell something of a cross between sweetness and bitterness. A wafting aroma that smelled _quite_ pleasant. Not the worst thing to wake up to. Certainly better than what he had been waking up to for the past weeks.

Slowly but surely his eyes began to peel apart, his vision blurred as he could see nothing but hues of brown and green. The air was warm and he could feel something covering him. Sitting up, carefully, he got a better look at his surroundings.

He was in what looked to be a bedroom of sorts, under various furs in one of the most comfortable beds he’d been in for what felt like years. The soft glow of candles and lanterns filled the room, accentuating many bookshelves that laid lined with book after book and a desk that was scattered with many pieces of parchment. Scratchings of notes, letters, blueprints, and the like.

Finally, Finn noticed the wooden door which was then opening and in was stepping Vax, a cup of steaming liquid in his grasp. Their eyes met and the half elf’s eyebrows rose in surprise. 

“Finn,” he remarked as he moved closer, pulling the chair away from the desk to set it beside the bed. After settling into it, he offered out the cup to Finn, to which he took slowly. “You’re awake, good. We weren’t sure when you’d come to.”

Looking down into the cup of what Finn could only assume as tea from the smell, his brows knit together as he looked back to Vax, “How long have I been out?”

“Day and a half, two days,” Vax settled a bit solemnly. “We’ve been staying at Heldore’s for the time being, trying to gather information in whatever way we can.”

Slowly, Finn brought up the tea closer, inspecting it a bit closely as he pondered this. So they’d made it through the portal after all. It was odd to be feeling so-- _relieved_ of that. Especially when he’d considered just ditching them altogether. There was a very, very small pang of guilt in his gut that he quickly shooed away.

“Vex’ahlia told me what exactly happened back at the gate to the portal,” Vax went on when the silence grew to be too long, his voice growing quiet and quite sincere. “I wanted to stick around, make sure I was here when you awoke. I should thank you for saving not only me, but my sister as well. I don’t think we would have made it through that portal had it not been for you.”

Okay, Finn had to admit the praise had him a bit, well-- flustered. Usually he wasn’t on the receiving end of this. Actually, he was very much on the giving end of this. And that was usually when he wanted something in particular. So this was… Very different. He couldn’t help but quite enjoy it.

Finn chuckled a bit, giving a smile as he looked down at the tea, “Couldn’t have very well made it there on my own, I think. You’ll have to thank your sister more than me. If it weren’t for her in the _first_ place, I don’t think we’d have our minds about us to begin with. We’d be… Drow zombies. Or whatever the fuck.”

Vax was laughing softly, “Oh believe me, she knows just how much she saved our asses back there.”

“She still not trust me?” Finn asked, looking back over to Vax.

He pursed his lips at that, looking maybe a bit embarrassed. “I don’t think, after what you did, there’s any question whether you were on our side or not,” the half elf admitted. “And I apologize she or I ever doubted you for a moment.”

It would kill the moment if Finn happened to divulge that he mostly did all that for his own good, as well as the whole almost leaving them behind anyway bit, so he would just keep that to himself.

“Apology accepted,” Finn grinned as he looked up and over at Vax’ildan more properly, now finally getting a decent look at his cellmate for the first time in days.

While he could see the half elf man well enough through his darkvision, it was a whole different thing when seeing him in such a clear and warm glowing light. His skin was fair and clean, much cleaner than it had been, and his hair was much more in order. Still the few dark strands laid across his ears and some along his forehead, much better kempt, and the ponytail along with a few new braids, all neat and proper. He had angular features, dark eyes, strong brows, and the curve of his lips were, quite frankly, very nice.

All in all, Vax was quite the attractive man and now Finn felt himself caught staring a bit. Although maybe he wasn’t the only one, both his and Vax’s eyes meeting not a moment later before they were both pulling their glances away.

Finn cleared his throat awkwardly before Vax was speaking once more, “Your hair-- it’s.. Really red. Is that natural?”

It was almost impossible to stop from laughing at that one, “Of _course_ it’s natural, why wouldn’t it be?”

Vax almost seemed a bit uncertain of himself as he shifted in his chair, “Sorry, no reason, it’s just-- quite nice. Never seen anything like it.”

“Yours isn’t so bad either,” Finn threw back at him with a sly grin, taking the compliment in stride and doing what he does best-- woo.

Right then, Finn could’ve sworn he saw the other elf begin to blush but he must’ve been a master of keeping it under control because it was gone as quick as it came. Now _that’s_ a new skill.

Vax tried to clear the possibly awkward air by speaking again, his tone much ligher, “So I believe that I have kept my end of the bargain. I haven’t called you _‘father Finn’_ \-- except for now, so that does not count. Want to clue me in on the whole being a cleric thing yet?”

“You’re **still** on that?” Finn asked, amusement as clear as the chuckle in his tone. He paused, allowing the silence to linger as he brought the cup of tea to his lips and took a careful sip. It was quite pleasant, quite sweet. He let the flavor settle, speaking again before Vax could. “Maybe I’ll keep you in anticipation yet. Wait for the right moment. Spring it on you suddenly and unexpectedly. Or something like that.”

“Oh, c’mon,” Vax pleaded, sounding genuinely disappointed even. “Give me a name, at least. Your god. God **_s_ **?”

It was too amusing to keep him guessing like this. So maybe he’d play a little game with the half elf, make it fun.

“I’ll give you the first letter of my god,” Finn teased. “It starts… With an ‘O’. Like ‘oh my god, you’ll probably never guess it’.”

Vax laughed, a cunning edge to his grin, “We’ll see about that.”

The sound of the door creaking open interrupted their conversation, both their heads turning to see Vex’ahlia stepping past the threshold, “Vax, there you are-- oh. I see you’re up, Finn, darling.”

Was it perhaps good that maybe she didn’t look at him with such a-- disdainful and distrustful look now? And she called him _‘darling’?_ Finn hoped that maybe it was definitely a good thing. Surely.

“Bright eyed and bushy tailed,” Finn quipped playfully, a smile on his lips.

Now that he got a good look at Vex, the resemblance between the siblings was a lot more stark than he’d expected. It was uncanny. While in the Underdark, they had a vibe about their features that they were certainly related, but in this better light?

“Hold on, I just--” the cleric started, moving to put his cup of tea on the nearby nightstand. He looked to both of their faces, looking closely back and forth. “This might sound stupid but are the two of you… Twins? By any chance?”

“A keen eye, Finnor, truly,” Vax deadpanned with a small smile, as though this was an incredibly overplayed bit of information. And for them both, it probably was.

“Huh,” Finn hummed as he nodded. “Suppose that would explain the depressing mood you were constantly in when you thought Vex’ahlia was dead. Losing your twin’s like having half your body cut off. Or so I’ve heard.”

In a weird way, a flash of sadness, sympathy, and finally regret flashed through Vex’s face before she was sighing, “Anyway, Heldore might finally have some kind of answers for us. Figured you might want to know right away.”

“Thank you, sister,” Vax nodded her way with a small smile, to which she nodded back and left the room again. The half elf turned his attention back to Finn as he went on, “Well, I can’t say that you’re.. Obligated to stay and sort this mess out. But I think my sister and I and, well.. _Everyone_ could use the help. Wouldn’t hurt to have another one that experienced all of that hell down there. I don’t quite know exactly what kind of man or cleric you are, but you saved us. You’re powerful and I can see that. So you’d be warmly welcomed as an ally during this time.”

Finn thought it over. He really, **really** thought it over in the moments that followed his spiel. It was nice that the option of just leaving was there. It was what he’d wanted for so long now, to just be free and out into the world again. He did need to stop by a certain temple and see a certain someone that owed him a certain something, but… Maybe those things could wait a bit longer.

Looking over Vax’s hopeful and beautiful features now put him at a crossroads that he wasn’t sure which was the right way to go. Morally and for the good of so many others, helping them would be the right thing to do. He thought of all those elves that were probably morphed into a Drow army, ready to take and destroy everything above and beyond. And it was, truly, a bit disturbing.

Perhaps what interested him most was getting even. Getting a little payback on the bastards that took him, trapped him, and put him through that hell. If anything, maybe _that_ would be worth it. A good bout of revenge. And if it just so happened that he appeared to be doing it for some greater good along the lines, then so be it.

Not to mention, he did still feel a good bit of gratitude for the twins essentially having saved him from that shitstorm in the first place.

Slowly, a smile began to overtake his lips as he nodded, “I think I could stand to stick around. Besides, I don’t want to miss you trying and failing miserably to guess just who my god is. You’ve got yourself an ally to take down this bastard.”

With that, Finn offered out his hand for a shake, Vax immediately putting his own out and wrapping his fingers around Finn’s upper arm. They held one another firmly, the grip remaining for a few seconds as Vax nodded.

“Not just an ally. A friend,” Vax affirmed with a confident smile.

And Finn’s smile melded into something softer, “A friend, then.”

 

* * *

 

Dragging his fingers through his long hair, Finn tamed it as best he could before beginning to weave it into a loose braid over his right shoulder. One strand after the other, coming to the end whereupon he wrapped the green piece of fabric around in a secure knot. Finn would certainly love to get back home at some point to take care of himself more properly and comfortably, but this would have to do for the time being. 

As Finn left the bedroom he’d been in for the past day or so, he was greeted by the sight of a similarly warm and welcoming atmosphere. Soft, glowing flames were interspersed throughout the cottage-like home, the place smelling of the herbs and plants that lined a multitude of shelves. Joining those were multitudes of books, vials (some filled or otherwise empty), and collections of items that Finn wouldn’t even know where to begin identifying.

Turning his attention to his right, there seemed to be a sitting area where upon Vax and Vex were sitting, along with a golden-scaled dragonborn, and--

“Holy shit is that a _bear?_!” Finn asked a bit louder than he’d meant, finding himself backing up a step with wide eyes.

The bear in question seemed to turn its attention to him, groaning out in a deep hum as it stood to try approaching Finn. To which Finn took yet another step back.

“Oh, _no, no,_ don’t worry,” Vex was waving her hand Finn’s way, her voice just vaguely reassuring. “That’s just Trinket, my bear, he’s very friendly, I assure you! Trinket, be nice to Finn, darling.”

Squeezing past the chairs and between the desks and bookshelves, the bear approached and Finn remained where he sat, bedroom door against his back. He watched the bear, _Trinket_ rather, carefully. And then he was remembering that Vax had mentioned something about a bear first day they’d met. This must’ve been said bear. Seemed it survived too.

Before Finn realized it, Trinket was upon him, rubbing his fuzzy cheek against against his side and lolling his tongue out to wash against his face. Finn groaned a bit as he tentatively tried to push the bear down.

“Okay, _okay_ , **_good_ ** bear,” Finn said, finally ushering Trinket out of his face. He grimaced as he wiped his hand across his slobbered up features, “ _Eugh_ , next time at least give your bear a breath mint or something.”

At that, Trinket seemed to let out a slightly dejected moan as he backed up, Vex’s tone a bit chiding, “ _Aw_ , no, now you’ve gone and hurt his feelings. It’s _okay_ Trinket, buddy, he didn’t mean it.”

Finn’s brow raised at that, “You’re saying that like he can **actually** understand anything I’m saying.”

Almost as though he was responding, Trinket huffed up at Finn, reaching forward again to nudge at the elf’s side.

A laugh then pierced the air, old and kind and crinkling, bringing Finn’s attention over to the golden scaled dragonborn, “Oho, you give the animal _far_ too little credit, young elf. He is much smarter than you realize.”

If bears could smile, Finn was certain he saw it now on Trinket’s face before he gave a satisfied exhale. He then returned back over towards Vex, her hand reaching out to pet the bear over the ears.

“That’s _right_ , Trinket, you’re the smartest bear to ever be a bear, aren’t you? Yes you are,” Vex praised in exactly that kind of tone you would use for babies or puppies or kittens. And Trinket certainly seemed to enjoy it.

Sighing and shaking his head, Finn moved closer to the group, now giving the dragonborn a better look. His scales, while certainly golden, seemed to have a dull sheen to them, one of his darkened horns looking to have been long chipped and broken off about halfway through. Atop the bridge of his nose sat a pair of rather large glasses, a couple of smaller monocles attached to each end straying upwards. He wore fine, red robes that looked to be made of silk and in one hand he held a simple brown staff against the ground, his other holding a book along his lap.

“So what’s the situation here?” Finn asked, adjusting his vest as he did so. “I’m sure you’ve been filled in on what we-- ah, sorry, manners. _You_ must be Heldore?”

The dragonborn smiled, a kind, old smile, as he nodded, “That I am. Heldore of House Bilinome. And I am well informed that you are Finnor. The pleasure is mine.”

“Heldore was kind enough to make sure you were well taken care of,” Vax mentioned, to which Heldore seemed to wave away his words.

“Oh nonsense,” he was chuckling, his voice a raspy yet strong tone. “Nothing a little simple magic could not settle.”

Finn gave their host a gracious smile, bowing just by a bit, “Then I owe you my thanks. Pardon my bluntness, but let’s get down to brass tacks here: do you know what the hell we’re dealing with?”

Heldore hummed in contemplation before he was moving to settle his staff against his warm brown chair, proceeding to open the book and flip through brittle pages as he answered in a troubled tone, “I have gathered what information that I-I could have possibly found, little as it was. If what you say is true then it seems that there are dark, _dark_ times ahead should-should this army of the Drow succeed. _Especially_ with the creature you’ve described at their disposal. If it even is at their disposal.”

“What **_is_ ** it exactly?” Vex asked, sounding deeply inquisitive.

“If it is as you said, then I should suspect it to be Noftris, one of the most unholy of gods,” Heldore explained gravely, seeming to find the page he was searching for. He cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses higher upon his snout, and began reading from the book, “Noftirs is one of the three sister demon lords of the Underdark planes. She commands a high amount of power over turning light to evil and seeks to truly corrupt those of goodness and innocence to her favor and that of ill-will’s favor..”

Once more, Heldore looked back up to the elves before him as he continued with a puzzled look within his golden eyes, “Ah- what I cannot understand is-is what she is doing here in such a _physical_ form, which has not been seen for centuries, and working _beside_ the Drow. The Drow are-are-are not usually known to worship her nor follow her. It is beyond me what brought these two together but-- if they were changing elves of all kind into slaves and soldiers of darkness…”

“It could be a means to an end,” Vax pondered quizzically. He clasped his hands together as he leaned forward, elbows on knees. “An end that the Drow, from what I know of them, have wanted for some time. They believe themselves higher than all others. And this would be their way of proving so.”

Heldore’s brow crinkled together, “At such a price to-to summon upon the help of an unholy god.. It must be a grave price being paid indeed.”

“What kind of magic could create an army? _Just_ like that?” Finn asked as he crossed his arms.

“Nothing good and something certainly powerful,” Vex muttered, leaning back within her seat a bit defeated.

Vax tilted his head a bit, “What do we know about this Ranaghar? Lilith? Are they of any known importance?”

Heldore sighed as he shook his head, “I am afraid they are unknown, at least above the Underdark. And I am not well versed in the knowledge of anything Underdark, unfortunately.”

“I’ve studied the Underdark,” Vex chimed in with a slight twinge of hopefulness to her tone. “But those names aren’t ringing any bells. Earthroot is something I’ve only touched upon mildly in my studies.”

“Then it seems we must still gather more information, find someone who-who-who could possibly have the wisdom to move forward,” the dragonborn muttered with conviction.

Bringing up a hand, Finn rubbed his over his pointed chin, considering all of this new information. And then suddenly a thought popped into his mind.

“Heldore, question,” he asked, gaining the older fellow’s attention. “That whole portal thing-- how did that work exactly?”

Heldore moved to close the book, readjusting his glasses almost as a tick of some sort before answering, “Well, I-- it was through Vex’s help, ah-- mostly. Simply I was able to scry to-- her brother’s location, only for a short moment. But it was long enough to--to pinpoint it, in a general sense. And I used that information to use an older spell of teleportation. It was a bit-- more testing than actually knowing it would work. But it did and-and I am glad that it did.”

Alright, so Finn was certainly impressed at that one. It was easy to get the sense that this old dragonborn was quite powerful in the ways of the arcane. Definitely a good one to have on their side.

“Right then,” Vax spoke after a moment of silence. “Where we stand, as of now… Is we basically know fuck all. So what do we even do at this point? We can’t very well sit around and twiddle our thumbs until the Drow are right on our front doorstep.”

Vex looked to her brother, “We haven’t got to. We’ve got a few leads, we just need a little more information to follow them up, do some research. It’s information that I’m certain we could seek out, possibly here within Westruun.”

 _Oh._ That’s right. They were in Westruun, weren’t they? Finn could feel himself biting onto his lower lip in a bit of nervousness, realizing he hadn’t quite planned to be back here so soon. And he was currently having an internal strife with himself at whether he should reveal why it was just so bad he was in this city right now.

 **_Nah._ ** It’d be fine. Surely it’d be fine. He just had to avoid certain people and places within this city and it’d work out. Or so he hoped it would. He’d cross that bridge if they ever came to it.

“You have powers and alliances yet to be found at your disposal should-should you choose to seek them,” Heldore affirmed, sounding a hint determined now. He brought up a rugged hand to brush at his lower jaw. “The Court of Avandra, the council there, might listen to this plight. I would also recommend visiting the Cobalt Reserve to seek some more knowledge of these names; it is-is very possible you might find your answers there as it is a vast array of book knowledge. In the meantime, I will do what research and-and searching that I can.”

Reaching back into the satchel at his side, Heldore rummaged through the pack to retrieve a scroll, handing it over to Vex as she reached out to it. He pointed at it, “Keep this scroll on hand-- I shall send a message to that scroll if I find any-any kind of information of pressing importance. You will know when a message should appear.”

“Thank you, Heldore,” Vex gave the older man a warm smile as she put the scroll away into her pack. “You’ve essentially saved all of us from death and you have been incredibly helpful to this endeavor and if you ever have need of us to repay you in whatever way, you only have to ask.”

The dragonborn gave her a warm smile as he nodded, “It is no trouble. By the sound of it, it seems like you will repay that debt with your deeds in-in this endeavor alone. Now you are welcome here any time. My home is your home.”

“Thank you again, Heldore,” Vax said as he stood, standing to reach out and give a firm shake to Heldore’s hand. “We will not forget what you’ve done for us.”

“And neither will I,” Heldore chuckled as he returned the shake. “Now go on. You’ve got a-a lot to do. Ah and one more thing; _do_ tell them I sent you. They uh-- owe me a favor.”

With that, Vex now stood and they were both approaching the door to the cottage, Trinket following suit and attempting to not knock anything over as he did so. As they reached the door, Vex went ahead as Vax stopped, turning back to look over at Finn.

“Finn?” Vax asked curiously, raising a brow at the other elf. “Are you coming?”

It seemed that Finn had been caught in his own thoughts for a moment too long, shaking it off to look over at Vax, “Huh?”

Vax watched him curiously, “I said, are you coming?”

“Oh!” Finn was quick to scramble towards the door as well. “Right, _sorry_ , yes. Got lost in thought for a moment there.”

And without giving the half elf another glance, he was slipping out the door and into the late morning sun of Westruun.

Oh he remembered this place _quite_ well. The well-worn cobblestone roads, the charmingly rustic wooden buildings, the drafty and chilled air, and the smell. It wasn’t the most _pleasant_ of smells, surely the bustle of people moving to and fro didn’t help much in stirring it up either. And just by the looks of this particular district-- this was not the most ideal place that Finn wanted to be.

“So,” Vex began with a sigh, placing her hands on her hips. “Where shall we go first? I feel like it’s going to be a _long_ day.”

Finn began with a light, nervous chuckle, “Well, I mean, it’s not like we _have_ to start looking for our information in Westruun, right?” He brought up a hand, scratching the side of his head as his other hand shrugged. “Surely it doesn’t hold all or _any_ answers for that matter, there’s plenty of other places worth looking into!”

Both of the twins, hell even Trinket, stared at Finn strangely, Vex’s eyes narrowing a bit, “ _Really?_ Because from what Heldore’s told us, this city’s our best starting bet. Where else would we go?”

Finn shrugged, “I don’t know-- anywhere else? Maybe?”

“Is there something you want to tell us?” Vax began, sounding highly suspicious. His eyes even narrowed a bit. “Because if we’re going to be traveling together for a time then I don’t think withholding any sort of vital information is a very good idea.”

Vex crossed her arms, “ _Yeah._ Exactly what my brother said.” As if to compliment such words, Trinket snorted out from his nostrils, black nose flaring a bit.

Clenching his teeth and heaving a difficult sigh, Finn tried to make as little eye contact as possible, “Alright, _alright_ , well-- let’s just say this is.. All hypothetical what I’m saying from this point out. Right?”

Silence followed as both siblings gave each other a single sidelong look before returning to Finn. Vex spoke then, voice completely sarcastic, “Yeah, sure. _Hypothetical_. Which no one says when they mean it’s truly hypothetical, but go on.”

Fuck, Vex was a little scary. And what was even scarier was that Finn found it just a little attractive. He shook that one right out of his mind.

“Okay. So. Let’s say, **_hypothetically_ ** , I might have--” Finn cringed a bit, taking a careful breath before continuing. “Pissed some people off. People that I _know_ are probably in this city right now, as we speak. And because of that, I’ve decided to essentially blacklist this city. And this is the first time I’ve been back to this city since said, _completely hypothetical_ , er… Situation.”

Vax was sighing tiredly, bringing up a hand and rubbing it on his face, “Alright, what did you do?”

“I said it was hypothetical-- I didn’t do anything!” Finn brought up his hands in slight defense, shaking his head.

“Cut the shit, Finnor,” Vax responded quite bluntly.

So it was obvious he wasn’t really going to worm his way out of this one. And that was a bit frustrating. Maybe he just _shouldn’t_ have said anything to begin with.

The cleric sighed heavily and long before finally speaking, “ **_Fine_ ** , okay. Long story short, I might’ve-- tricked the lovely and dedicated followers of Bahamut in this city. Not _only_ did I tread in some holy grounds that were sacred in the mountains nearby-- grounds that I had **_no_ ** idea, at the time, were sacred-- and I found some artifacts there. _An_ artifact. I borrowed--”

Finn paused suddenly, noticing the scowl on Vex’s face before rescinding that last word, “Okay, I stole them. Didn’t quite know I was stealing at the time. Or I might’ve. I don’t know, not important-- anyway, to get to the punchline, I sold it off to some of the Bahamut followers at the temple here in town, convinced them it was a long lost relic of the platinum dragon. Got a pretty good amount of coin for it, then fled town soon as I got word they realized what it _actually_ was. So there. Dirty deed all out in the open and now you know. _Happy?_ ”

Nothing but silence fell into the air, silence that Finn could only describe as crossed between stunned and completely disappointed. Both Vax and Vex watched him with mixed expressions, ones he couldn’t quite place, before Vax was closing his eyes and snorting a small bit of laughter.

“Oh, what, you actually find this funny, Vax? Really?” Vex scoffed as Vax was trying to wave her attention away as he tried to compose himself a bit. “Well I for one don’t find it very funny at all.”

“No, no, I’m sorry, it’s--” Vax stopped a moment to compose himself, clearing his throat as he did so. “It’s not funny, in principal. But I just-- how did they not recognize it as an artifact from their own sacred grounds? How did you manage that?”

Finn gave a small, sly smile, “Ah, well, I have my ways.”

Vex pressed her fingers against her forehead before groaning and shaking her head with closed eyes, “This’ll just make things so much more difficult.” She finally looked back up to Finn, perking up an eyebrow, “How much, exactly, did you sell it to them for?”

Finn’s once sly smile turned into something a bit more awkward as he brought his shoulders up in a slight shrug, “Just about ten thousand gold?”

Vex’s eyes widened and her voice matched that expression of complete and utter surprise, “ **_You stole ten thousand--?!_ ** ” She brought up a finger, taking a deep breath and speaking quieter this time. “ _You stole… Ten thousand gold… From a_ **_Temple of Bahamut..?!_ ** ”

“Hey, look, if it’s any consolation, I think the big dragon in the sky got his retribution afterall,” Finn added defensively. “Lost it all after the Drow took me prisoner. So it all worked out in the end. Not for me, of course, but that’s just fine for you to hear, I’m sure.”

Vex scoffed a bit, “It is, actually. But that’s still money you stole from a temple, of all places.”

“Yes, yes, I’m a terrible, dirty liar and scoundrel,” Finn went on, crossing his arms. “I get it, I learned my lesson.”

The rogue was shaking his head, “Aren’t you supposed to be a cleric yourself anyhow?”

“Certainly not one of Bahamut’s clerics, obviously,” Finn replied as he shook his shoulders once more.

“At any rate,” Vex cut in, scowling a bit. “We’re not leaving Westruun. Whether we run into any sort of followers of Bahamut that recognize you is just a situation we’ll have to deal with when we come to it. In fact, I think it’d be some good retribution if you did deal with them at some point while we’re here. At least try to be decent and clear your conscience or something, for god’s sake.”

Finn huffed a small chuckle, “Duly noted. But my conscience is just fine, for the record.”

“I say we start with the court first,” Vax chimed in, looking over his shoulder to a road that led south. “If we bring the matter to the council’s attention, we could try to get clearance to seek out whatever information we can in whatever means. Not to mention, they might have connections that could get us that information faster than just on our own.”

“It’s as good a plan as any right now,” his sister agreed with a nod his way. “Actually… It’s a _really_ good plan. I’m sure there are sections in the Cobalt Reserve we won’t be able to get to without certain permissions. Good thinking, brother.”

At that, Vax’ildan was giving her a proud smile, “I know, I know, I’m quite the asset.”

“Let’s get this over with then, shall we?” the cleric asked, more rhetoric than anything else. “I’m not a fan of dealing with courts or councils so the quicker we get this done with, the better.”


	3. the council

To say that some districts of this city weren’t at least a _little_ impressive would be a decent lie on Finn’s part. The Temple Terrace district seemed to hold a little more pomp and circumstance about itself than the others, lending to much finer buildings and much cleaner roads. And cleaner smelling air, thankfully.

Finn could feel himself biting onto his lower lip as they passed by the Bahamut Temple, eyeing it carefully and being sure to keep as low a profile as possible. Luckily they passed right by it without much incident, leading them up to, perhaps, the biggest building in the town.

With sand colored stone, smooth and finely crafted, the building stood a good three stories or so, lending to its might with strong stone carvings of a woman Finn could only assume was Avandra. He’d never personally been to this particular part of the district, and he didn’t exactly care for the goddess, but he had to admit, it was a fine sight to see.

Surrounding the building was a gate, spikes atop the metal bars to discourage anyone from getting the idea of climbing it. Before the open gate stood a couple of guards, their faces covered by golden helmets but their body language screaming their boredom.

As the group approached, they both seemed to perk up a bit, standing at better attention as they grasped their javelins for quick ease of access.

“ _Halt_ ,” one of them boomed in an incredibly deep voice. “What’s your business?”

The elves stopped, Trinket coming to a slow halt behind them as well. It didn’t take the other guard long to notice said bear either.

“ _Ah--!_ Ah, _th-that’s--!_ ” he sputtered, sounding not as brave as he was no doubt supposed to look and taking a step back as he did so.

Vex’ahlia shook her head quickly, “Oh! No! No, no, don’t worry. That's just Trinket, he’s friendly, he’s with us.”

The first guard remained still, but it was obvious beneath his metal armor that he was ready at a moment’s notice should she be lying. Trinket let out a small and gentle groan as Vex pat him on the head.

“We’ve come seeking audience with the council, to answer your question,” Vax chimed in, tone somewhere between serious and persuasive. “There is a matter of grave danger that we must bring attention to and it’s something that we cannot handle on our own.”

“The council is not seeing anyone at this time,” the deep voiced guard responded sharply.

“Heldore sent us,” Vex countered, a sly smile hidden within her words. “Perhaps _that’ll_ change their minds.” She promptly gave them a quick wink.

Both of the guards looked to one another before the first was nodding, sending his fellow guard along without a word. He stepped off, moving into the building and disappearing.

“ _Hey_ , so, quick question,” Finn asked, taking a small step forward. “Do I happen to, I dunno… Look at all familiar to you? Like at all? _Any_ bit?”

Nothing but silence answered Finn’s question for several long moments before he gave a simple and blunt, “No. Should you be?”

Finn sighed, an action of relief, “Oh, no, good, that’s perfect. See, it's just that I've been having this issue lately where I've been meeting new people and they always, _always_ say that I look familiar!” Finn lied through his smile, quite fluidly and naturally at that. He even sounded a bit annoyed to add a little more flavor to it. “It’s just gotten very old so I thought I'd ask before you-- well. I'm sure you get the idea. Good to meet you then. You’re absolutely cheerful and delightful.”

Well, at least they hadn’t stuck his face everywhere on posters trying to track him down. They must’ve not wanted to get their gold back **that** badly, which was completely fine by him.

Minutes and minutes passed before finally, the same guard as before came back out, giving a nod to the group, “The council will see you but only for a short while. They have other business to attend to very soon.”

“Perfect,” Vax began as he lead them ahead. “We won’t need much time.”

Just as they stepped past the gate, the first guard stopped them, “ **Wait.** The bear may not enter.”

Vex turned immediately, “What?! No, no, he goes where I go. He won’t hurt anybody; they’ll barely know he’s even there, won’t they Trinket?”

The sound of Trinket’s agreeing moan was enough to cover the snort from Finn, “ **_Bear_ ** _ly_ …”

“Then no entry,” he responded harshly. “Bear stays outside.”

Both the twins looked to each other for a moment as Vex gave a pouty sigh, looking back to her bear. Trinket gave her a sad groan before she was giving him soft pets on his head.

“We’ll be back very soon, okay Trinket?” Vex moved forward, placing a quick kiss atop his snout. Trinket groaned even sadder. “You stay _right_ here, alright? It won’t be long.”

With a huff, the bear moved over to the side of the path leading to the building and flopped down, resting his head on his front paws. It was funny that such an animal could portray such sorrow and sadness, but this bear seemed surprisingly good at it.

“She always this attached to the bear?” Finn muttered in a whisper as he leaned over to Vax.

Vax just gave a small smile before answering, “Yes. She is.”

With the temporary goodbyes said and done, they were led up the steps and into the court. The inside was just as impressive as the outside, if not more. Stepping past the large oak doors was a reception hall of sorts, a decent size to fit a good party of people. On each side there were stairs winding and leading up to a second floor landing that overlooked the entire entrance before disappearing beyond their sight.

Beneath the landing were another set of large doors and they were led through those as well, a long hallway lit by lanterns ahead along each wall. At the end of the hall were two more guards, in the same armor as the ones at the front. They both moved to open the doors as the group gathered closer.

Past those doors was another expansive room, perhaps even bigger than the reception room at the front. It was modeled into some sort of dome top, several high desks surrounding the northern, curving wall where several humanoid figures were already seated. The ceiling was decorated with some kind of religious artwork that Finn could only guess had to do with Avandra. The same woman that was modeled outside in stone sat in a depiction of too many holy references and symbols Finn couldn’t even completely place.

Nor did he have the time to.

“Council of Avandra, I present to you three travelers who seek your audience for a matter they believe of import,” the guard announced, his voice bouncing off the walls in a strange and haunting fashion.

Finally, as they all stepped into the center of the room, Finn got a good look at all of them.

Starting from the left was a human man who looked to be at least in his fifties or sixties, bald of hair except for a long white beard that began along his thick sideburns and traveled down to his waist. He watched them with curious and intent green eyes.

To the right of him sat a portly looking woman, dwarven from what Finn could tell, with long red hair in elaborate braids that draped along each side of her quite generous chest. Her chin was strong and eyebrows sharp, features holding numerous scars and brown, curious eyes.

At the middle chair, this one being just higher than the rest, was an absolutely beautiful and graceful looking elf, her skin holding a copper tinge to it and her hair a dirty blonde, pulled back into an extravagant looking ponytail with braids draping about her face. Along her forehead she wore some sort of silver circlet, possibly holding some kind of enchantment to it, but it seemed more for show. Her ears were long and her eyebrows dark and thick. She watched them with distant blue eyes.

The seat right of her, another seat down, sat a dragonborn man, vibrant silver scales lining his skin with long and elegant looking horns atop his head, decorated with some kind of hanging jewelry. His golden eyes landed on them with a small hint of distrust but also some kind of disinterest, his snout upturned a bit almost as though he were annoyed at the intrusion.

And finally, on the last seat to the right, was _exactly_ who Finn was hoping he wouldn’t see. With long and curled golden hair matching her golden armor, the halfling looked exactly how Finn had remembered. And immediately, Finn wanted to bolt out of here. But maybe he shouldn’t. Maybe he should just try to act like he didn’t know her, pretend he didn’t even exist at this moment in time. Maybe she wouldn't even remember him--

“ ** _Finnor Lamaedir!!_** ” the halfling known as Kima was shouting roughly, standing from her seat as she slammed her hands down onto her desk. “You **_dare_ ** show your face around here again?! _Guards!_ Seize the red haired elf!”

The sudden sounds of metal moving into action followed her words as two guards Finn hadn’t even noticed approached him from behind, roughly grabbing onto his arms.

“Lady Kima, what is the _meaning_ of this?!” the human man began, his shaky voice somehow made strong by the reverberation.

“ **This** is the one I was telling you about, Joseph!” Kima growled, not taking her eyes off of Finn for even a moment as he struggled from the guards’ hold. “The liar and the fraud that stole our gold!”

Finn growled, teeth clenched tight before he started to give up struggling, “Easy, _easy!_ ”

“Please, wait,” Vex was piping in, stepping closer and looking about the council. “At least hear us out on what we came here for before you do anything rash.”

Kima snorted, “Oh, I’ve been waiting a long, **_long_ ** time to get my hands on him and you’re not going to take that away from me!”

“Hey, _look_ , in my defense,” Finn was quickly speaking, trying to keep his cool. He winced a bit as the guards’ hold on him was growing evermore uncomfortable. “I wouldn’t have even been **_crazy_ ** enough to dream of coming back here had it not been for something really, really serious and dangerous!”

“Your crimes against Bahamut weren’t serious **enough?** ” Kima narrowed her eyes at him, tilting her head a bit. “You’re a dirty, filthy son of a--!”

“ _ **ENOUGH!!**_ ” The dragonborn shouted, his voice booming through what was no doubt a thaumaturgy spell.

Silence fell among the room once more, Finn’s own ears ringing a bit from the sudden volume of his gravely and rough voice.

Seeming as though she was barely affected by the events unfolding before her, the elven woman in the highest seat spoke in a slow and accent-heavy voice, her words like silk, “You bring yourselves before us, asking of us some aid for a danger we do not even know can be confirmed. And you harbor with you an individual that is guilty of a strong crime of theft against the faith of the platinum dragon itself. You come here not on our kindness but on the favor of an old and trusted friend.”

She leaned forward only slightly, seeming to study the elves with an unreadable face, “You discredit yourselves before you can even speak. What say you now?”

A heavy moment of silence followed before Vax was stepping up, offering his hands out on either side, “First off… My name is Vax’ildan and this is my sister, Vex’ahlia. We are _not_ excusing his actions here. What he did was nothing to turn the other cheek at and it was, without a doubt, wrong. We _know_ that. But there is a bigger and much more pressing danger at stake here. Just.. hear us out first. Place a truth ward on us, prod our minds, do whatever you must, but listen to what we have to say.”

“You’re associating with a thief and a liar,” Kima growled, her voice much quieter but the rage was still there. “I can’t imagine you’re very trustworthy.”

The elven woman turned to her right to consult the dwarf next to her, speaking in hushed words before the elf looked over to the dragonborn, speaking with him as well. As she spoke, he gave a short and quick nod before they all looked back at their strange guests.

“You will have _five_ minutes to explain,” the dragonborn said, bringing up a clawed finger to sign something magical into the air. “Do not waste words.”

Suddenly, the very present sensation of magic swirled around the room. Finn knew it right off the bat-- he had cast a truth spell on them. It was something that Finn shook off from himself, pushing the invisible and magical barriers from ensnaring his mind. It was almost instinctual, but he wasn’t very fond of being laid so bare with a zone of truth. The effects didn’t take him and he did his best to stave them off, but made no more attempts to free himself.

His eyes met with the dragonborn’s and while his golden eyes were intense and knowing, Finn didn’t shy away. He kept his face hard and as unreadable as he possibly could.

“Speak. **Now** ,” the dwarven woman spoke for the first time, her voice low and deep.

The twins looked to one another before Vax took a deep breath, and began to explain. He started from the beginning, how they were attacked by the Drow and by Lilith, how Vax thought his sister dead, how he’d been imprisoned by them and stuck with Finn, even telling how Finn had been there weeks prior to him. Then he described the dome of hundreds upon hundreds of elves, the unholy goddess Noftris, their leader Ranaghar, and the army that was being created. Their goal of usurping the surface and all that lived within, ending with their escape back to Westruun.

For the moments following Vax’s words, it was hard to gauge much of anything from their features. A few looked perplexed and estranged, the dwarf held a hardened expression, and the elf had simply begun to raise her brows.

As silence filled the domed room once more, she looked over to the dragonborn who simply gave her a wordless nod.

“According to Thurkear, it seems you have not resisted the spell, unlike your guilty friend, and you are telling the truth,” she went on, her voice holding a hint of disturbance to it. “This is a _dark_ and foreboding tale. But I am at a loss on what you believe should be done.”

“We’re looking for information, allies, people to infiltrate the Underdark and stop it at the root,” Vex spoke now, a hard and serious edge to her voice. “This is _bigger_ than any of us. I saw it too. Who knows if that’s even the full extent of the army that’s being built.”

The older human known as Joseph spoke up, his voice holding concern, “You are talking of raising an army ourselves when we don’t even hold that kind of power. We are but _one_ city with small military force.”

“Then knowledge!” Vex pleaded, sounding almost desperate. “We need to find out more about Ranaghar, Lilith, Noftris; surely you _must_ know someone with intimate knowledge of the Drow.”

“The Cobalt Reserve may harbor some knowledge you seek,” the elven woman spoke. “You will have access to every level of text within granted to you.”

Vax’s brow furrowed as he leaned closer still, “We must ready ourselves; we don’t know _when_ this Drow army will arrive at our doorstep. Surely you could notify other cities in Tal’Dorei. At some point, this threat could involve the whole of Exandria.”

“Yes, we will send word in what way we can,” Thurkear, the dragonborn, grumbled deeply. “But we _must_ exercise caution as well. Politics are not a swift process but we will see to what we can.”

“If you find anymore information, do inform us,” Joseph added with a nod, his shaking voice matching how everyone seemed to feel.

Suddenly, the elven woman was turning her attention back to Finn, her gaze cold as ice. She lingered, causing Finn to nearly wince away, before looking to Kima, “Lady Kima, I believe I shall leave this Finnor in your hands. As a faithful of Bahamut, _you_ are the wounded party. And as a trusted member of the Council of Westruun in the Court of Avandra, I have faith you will see to his punishment accordingly.”

Finn was clenching his teeth roughly as he looked over to Kima, a look of some sort of satisfaction gracing her features. He quickly looked away once more. _Shit_. Here he’d just been freed and already he was going to be in shackles again.

“Take him to Bahamut’s Rest, in the dungeon below,” Kima ordered the guards, to which they each nodded before promptly dragging him off.

This time, he proceeded to struggling, trying to dig his heels into the stone ground and looking over his shoulder, “Wait!! Wait! Can’t we talk this out?! Or something?!”

“Wait!” Vax’s voice pierced the air, but the guards didn’t stop. He spoke quickly, “He’s with us! Could his punishment wait until this is all over and dealt with?”

“Stop,” Kima was calling out, the guards stopping to her command. They turned, facing Finn to see Kima just in time as she brought her legs over the desk in one quick swipe and jumped down from the raised pedestal. She landed with a rough thud, her golden armor clinking as she did so, but she landed effortlessly, her body taking the impact as though it were used to such a thing.

Kima straightened herself as she looked over to the twins, “We don’t know when or how this army will be coming. It could be weeks, months, or even **years** before they make a move. I will not have the justice I’ve been waiting for taken away from me on account of an unknown enemy.”

Finn looked down to Kima before looking back over to Vex and Vax. He looked at them pleadingly, begging for some kind of help. Vex gave him a bit of a pained look, something that told him she _might_ have helped-- but he was sure another part of her wanted to see him face this kind of retribution anyhow. And Vax’s face was a bit hard, seeming as though he was torn between gaining the favor of the court and helping out his new friend.

“You’ll have your permissions and sanctions and whatever the hell else you’re wanting right now in regards to this,” Kima offered pointedly. “But for the time being, he is _mine_. I understand he’s your friend, but there’s debts to be paid. Let’s go.”

And without another word, Finn was being dragged off once more, struggling to get out yet again, “Stop! C'mon, let’s talk--!”

“You’ve done _enough_ talking for an entire bloody lifetime,” Kima went on angrily, storming behind the guards.

Whether Vax or Vex tried to stop them, he wasn’t sure. He could no longer see them as he was being dragged to the front of the building. Finally, one of the guards seemed to grow incredibly frustrated with Finn’s attempts to escape, and brought up an armored fist to strike it rough and hard against the back of Finn’s head.

Darkness consumed his vision and mind before he had a chance to speak another word.

 

* * *

 

 

Now _this_ was a familiar feeling. Waking up to a cold, stone floor with shackles surrounding his wrists and a general sense of feeling like shit. He was so incredibly sick of being in shackles. For a time there he thought that maybe, just maybe, he was done with this kind of thing for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, that didn’t seem the case today.

Finn wasn’t sure how much time had passed, nor would he be able to tell, because only a dimness surrounded him and the cell he was within, the only source of light being a lone torch beyond the bars ahead of him.

He sat up more properly, groaning as his head and neck throbbed. That’s right, he’d been punched out. He looked down to the shackles on his wrists and was thankful that they weren’t attached to the wall this time. At least he had _that_ going for him.

Stirring his muscles into action, he moved to stand and made his way over to the bars of the cell, clasping onto them. They were sturdy, maybe a little rusted in places, but sturdy nonetheless. The sensation of an anti-magic field was surrounding him, a very familiar feeling due to his weeks being encased in it back when he was a prisoner of the Drow.

“Hello?!” Finn called out, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. Silence. Nothing. Not a single answer came to him, not even the subtle sound of movement came. It seemed he was entirely alone here.

In a growling frustration, Finn banged his shackles against the metal bars several times as he cursed in Elven, more out of anger than an attempt to free himself. He leaned forward as he grabbed the bars once more, pressing his forehead against the cool metal. He sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping. He supposed he had nothing else better to do than to wait around until someone came down. A guard or a priest or, Olidammara forbid, Kima herself.

Resigning himself to this incredibly familiar situation, he moved back to the back wall, leaning against it before sliding down to settle against the stone floor. And there he sat, entertaining his mind with ideas and thoughts on just how he could try to talk his way out of this one.

 

* * *

 

It had to have only been a few hours but it felt like days and months to Finn. Finally, the sound of clinking armor and the growing source of another light was approaching around the corner. Finn pushed himself up, immediately moving over to the bars of the cage.

Grasping the bars, he narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the figures. There were two taller figures and before them was walking another figure, a much smaller one. And he could only guess this was Kima. _Great._

“Could’ve at least had the decency to come down here sooner,” Finn sighed. “You’ve got a funny idea of how you should host guests. Might I recommend at least getting a throw rug or something? Really ties the whole room together.”

“Shut up,” Kima snapped, now stopping before the cell and looking up at the elf. The guards stood, torch in each left hand, at the ready. “I’ve been discussing just what we should do with you.”

Finn scoffed, “ _Without_ me? Shouldn’t I have at least a little input here?”

It seemed, judging by her tone, Kima was growing more and more impatient, “Which is exactly why I’m down here. See, if it were up to me, I wouldn’t be down here right now. I’d have happily just let you rot down here, probably forget all about you and let these two bring you some food every now and then just to make sure you don’t starve out to miss all the fun of spending your every waking hour in this cell. But the highbearer…”

Kima sighed heavily, shaking her head, “Highbearer Leena has other plans. So this is your chance for that input you so highly value: you can either stay here for the next decade, probably more, wasting away. Or you can put yourself to use and do us, along with the entire city of Westruun, a favor that would, for the most part.. Pardon you.”

Finn could feel his eyebrows furrowing, “So bringing word of a massive Drow army getting ready to march right up our asses _wasn’t_ enough? This is the thanks I get?”

The halfling just laughed, “Oh, please, don’t flatter yourself, Finnor. You did nothing but hurt your friends’ case back there. Luckily, they did all the talking and they didn’t resist the truth spell, unlike you. Far as the council and I are concerned, you were just there as a mistake of happenstance.”

“You have a really wondrous way with words, anyone ever tell you that, Lady Kima?” Finn said spitefully, narrowing his eyes at her.

Finn could just barely make out the smile on her lips, “So I’ve been told. Now do you want to hear of this favor or would you rather just take the first option regardless?”

“Get on with it then,” Finn urged, practically willing to do whatever was necessary just to get out of here.

“Somewhere within the many caves of Gatshadow Mountain there have been reports of a very young blue dragon nesting there,” Kima explained, quite bluntly. “It is not old nor strong enough to bring itself to harm Westruun, but in time, it could grow to be a very, very big problem. Your job will be to go up there, find it, and kill it. Simple as that.”

“ ** _Simple?!_** ” Finn said in slight exasperation, leaning back somewhat. “In what part of _killing a blue dragon_ do you consider to be simple?! That’s suicide!”

“It’s still relatively young,” Kima clarified. “Not to mention, **very** out of its element. We’re not sure how a blue dragon came to be in this part of the world, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is its death and its horn brought back for proof of its death.”

Taking a slow breath, processing all of this information, he exhaled just as slowly as he shook his head, “I kill this dragon… and you let me go. Yes?”

“You’ll be pardoned for most of your crimes,” she admitted, perhaps a little begrudgingly.

“Most? What does that even mean?”

Kima tilted her head a bit, “It means you won’t be stuck here for the foreseeable future. Which is all you care about, I'm sure.”

Finn bit onto his lower lip a bit as he considered this. “And will I have to do it alone?”

“No,” Kima answered promptly. “I’ll be accompanying you to make sure you get the job done and don’t just go running off. "Have you looked at your chest lately, by the way?”

Now Finn was utterly confused. His brow knit together as he watched her curiously, his tone matching suit, “What? No? Why the hell would I?”

Kima just chuckled a bit as she shook her head, “Oh, no reason. But I’m guessing that you’re going to be accepting. Knowing what I know of you, you’re not a fan of being caged.”

Finn huffed, “Fine. I’ll do it. The sooner, the better.”

“Good.” Kima began to turn, moving to leave as she called out behind her, “We’ll be leaving in the next hour. Make sure you’re ready. No dilly dally.”

As she moved out of sight, one of the guards unlocked the gate to the cell and swung it open noisily, to which Finn immediately began stepping out. He moved to unbutton some of his shirt, pulling it down to look at his smooth chest. And right there, settled upon his right pectoral, was something he never would have guessed to see.

Emblazoned in a white brand was the symbol of the platinum dragon himself, Finn’s eyes widening as he stopped before looking up to one of the guards. Oh now that was something that he was damn near disgusted to see on himself, flashbacks to his childhood and his parents invading his mind. He quickly tried to push the thoughts from his mind along with the memories.

“What’s this for? What does it mean?” Finn asked sternly, looking from one armored guard to the next.

Neither answered, only shoving him forward. He stumbled, guessing that they wanted him to follow in Kima’s path. With a huff, Finn walked forward, still looking down at his chest and running his fingers over the mark. It felt unmarred, as though it were simply a long healed tattoo.

Whatever it was, Finn had a _terrible_ feeling in the bottom of his stomach about it.


	4. the dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy ho, it's been a hot minute. Thought I'd go ahead and update for those of you wanting to keep reading. I really appreciate it!

The temple had been _‘kind’_ enough to provide Finn with several healing potions, along with his choice of some weaponry and armor. He gained himself a few daggers, one of the very _few_ weapons he was actually decent with, and some new leather armor. They also provided him with a cloak of furs, being warned that the mountain would be quite chilled.  He even got a small, warm meal of stew before they headed out. It all would’ve felt generous had it not been for the fact that they were probably sending him out to his death. A suicidal march.

The walk with Kima was awkward. And that was saying the least of it. Any time he tried to speak, she simply shut him down, either telling him to shut up most times or simply not responding at all. After nearly an hour of trying to hold any kind of conversation, Finn simply gave up.

The path had gotten rougher the farther out from the city they got, of course. He never was a fan of the terrain in this part of Tal’Dorei. In fact, he’d much rather be swimming through the entirety of the Ozmit Sea than be here.

A dense forest met them once they were about twenty miles outside of Westruun, the trees crowding against one another almost in a clamber to claim as much land as they possibly could with their roots. There was a single path that had been forced to remain a path through the many feet of travelers and horse hooves. Though it looked as though they were the first ones to traverse it in some time.

A few hours into traveling, they came across a felled tree, over which they had to climb its massive trunk. With a little time and effort, they managed to clear it, Finn already feeling the weariness of travel upon him. He never was much of one to do all that much physical exertion; he didn't really have the form for it either, barely any muscles to speak of in his lanky body.

“Kima,” Finn finally spoke a bit breathlessly, breaking their hours long silence. She seemed to stiffen in response but said nothing as she continued down the broken path. He decided to continue anyway. “Are you going to tell me anything about this thing on my chest?”

“How fares your morality?” Kima quickly asked in kind. She turned to look back at him over her shoulder, still trekking forward. He caught the vaguest hint of an encroaching smirk on her lips. “I think _that’s_ the better question to be asking here, Finnor.”

Finn watched her curiously, “That doesn’t answer my question. You can’t ask another question in response to a question.”

“Answer mine and it might answer yours,” she said, quite cryptically. She turned her attention forward once more. “You seem like a man fond of question games anyway.”

For the next moment or two, Finn thought on her question. He pondered it, trying to find his own answer to it. It was a question he didn’t exactly linger on for long, a question he didn’t find himself wrapped up in often. How was his morality? _Well…_

“My morality is just fine, I think,” the cleric finally answered, trying to figure out how that had anything to do with his own question.

He could hear the slightest snort of humor from Kima, “Then you’ll have _everything_ to worry about from that mark. Unless you decide to change your stance on what exactly it means to be moral.”

“Oh, alright, I see,” Finn went on, moving to step up closer to her. “You’re trying to play this as some _‘holier-than-thou’_ sort of thing, aren’t you? What will a mark of the big bad platinum dragon do to me when I don’t even follow him, hhm? What’s a god to a non-believer?”

A long silence followed the elf’s words, so long that Finn was beginning to believe Kima wouldn’t respond. But then she finally did.

“You’re a man of _some_ kind of faith,” Kima stated, looking up at him as he now walked astride with her. “I’ve seen the symbol you wear on your necklace. That mask. I know a cleric when I see one. What’s your god, then?”

“Olidammara,” Finn answered quite bluntly.

Kima’s features turned into something puzzled as did her tone, “Olidammara? I thought he was just a joke. That he wasn’t real.”

Finn gave a small and brittle laugh, “He’ll take that as a compliment, trust me. But he is very real. And he is my god.”

“Aren’t there **better** gods to be following? Ones that are more just and kind?” the halfling asked, something between genuine curiosity and doubt in her words.

Finn shook his head, “The truth is I find Olidammara to be the most just and kind out of all the gods. He doesn’t sit around, wringing his hands, waiting to punish his followers if they don’t kneel and give a prayer or two every weekend. No, he prefers his followers to enjoy their life, find the happiness and joy in their everyday in their own way. It’s true that his way of things is chaotic-- but I find it works for happiness. Life is unbalanced as shit. Might as well try to enjoy it a little.”

Once more, silence followed their company, Kima looking ahead as she seemed to be digesting this information.

“Life _is_ chaotic, you’re right,” Kima admitted quietly. “But that’s all the more reason to bring order and justice to it. To see to it that those like **_you_** , tricking and swindling unjustly, are dealt with. You can see things however you want but that doesn’t change what you’ve done is wrong.”

“Alright, alright, I don’t need any more of a lecture than you’ve _already_ given me, I get it,” Finn cut in. “Besides, I’m here right now, marching towards a fucking dragon, of all things, under _your_ crusade with **_your_ ** deity’s head marked on **my** chest. Isn’t that going to be repentance enough for you?”

The halfling snorted, “Perhaps it would be if it wasn’t just a means to your end of freeing yourself. But we’ll see. Dangerous battles are usually where one’s true colors shine the brightest.” Then she picked up her pace slightly, keeping her stride just ahead of Finn's own.

As their conversation came to a close, leaving them both to their own thoughts, they soon approached the bottom of the long and winding mountain range. Before them was erected a tall and treacherous mountain, ending somewhere beyond where the clouds gathered around its stony slope.  The sun had long since gone beyond the horizon and the temperature was, as they were warned, beginning to drop. Kima suggested that they set up camp, a nearby hollowed out and fallen tree their shelter.

Finn volunteered for the first watch and that was met with a little bit of suspicion from Kima. However, he had a hunch that this mark on his chest would stop him from doing anything untoward or from simply fleeing. And Kima’s easy acceptance of him taking first watch seemed to confirm that all the more as well.

The hours seemed to drag as Finn settled himself outside the hollowed out tree, the stone of the rock beneath his bottom not at all comfortable (he'd much rather be in a warm, soft bed at the moment). His eyes kept watch of the edge of the forest line about them, and it was incredibly uneventful.

The cleric couldn’t help but wonder what the twins were up to at this moment. Whether they had even heard what became of him or not. It hadn’t occurred to him to try and ask Kima to get word out to them anyhow. Not that it mattered, he supposed. Sure, Vax called Finn his friend-- but then again, Finn thought himself to have a lot of friends. And none of them truly a friend in the end. His multitude of  _'friends'_ never really came to his side when he needed them most anyhow.

He brushed the thoughts away, trying to stave off other thoughts of the Drow threat. Finn would sooner just leave it all to be dealt with by the council and whatever else powers they may contact. They’d done the minimum, they’d alerted the people they could. It sounded as though, however, Vex and Vax wanted to handle some of the matters in a more personal manner. Something that Finn wasn’t entirely sold on.

Finn could feel himself frowning at this. All of this reminded him so incredibly much of the whole situation with Tial’gamac and Alenia. That whole shitshow had put him through enough that he told himself he wouldn’t get involved in these kinds of highly dangerous situations. Especially when they involved, yet again, the entirety of, _possibly_ , the world.

Without warning, Finn felt the nudge of something at his shoulder, to which he quickly flinched and looked about. Behind him there sat Kima, still sound asleep. To his other side, nothing but the forest meeting the edge of the mountain line. Silence. Nothingness. Just an expanse of wilderness that no one should have to endure for longer than a day or two. But he couldn't have only _imagined_ such a brush at his shoulder.

He brought himself to his feet then, bringing out his dagger from the sheath at his right leg. Remaining ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice, hilt held tightly in his grasp...

But nothing more came. Except a voice. One lone and tempting voice that played at the edges of his mind, as though it were coming from hundreds of miles away. It spoke in Elven. It sounded like a woman.

_ ‘You do not belong here. You do not belong with them. Your time will come to make a choice. Make the right one, Finnor Lamaedir.’ _

Quickly, Finn shook his head, trying to push whatever this force was out from his mind. He promptly dispelled whatever magic had taken hold of his mind, feeling the small force wash away from him. He took several deep breaths, swallowing roughly.

He didn’t know what that was… But it didn’t feel right. It felt almost… _Demonic_ in some senses. Perhaps it was meant for someone else. As the minutes passed, his body still at the ready to fight anything that may come to pass, nothing more of the voice nor the sensation he felt at the start happened again.

Maybe he was going crazy. Maybe this whole situation was driving Finn, quite literally, mad.

“Finnor, is everything alright?”

Swiftly, Finn was turning to see that Kima was now awake, blade pointing out towards her. He ran his eyes over her, seeing that she was looking to him with a readiness about her eyes. Had it already been four hours?

He hesitated for a moment before nodding, pulling his blade back and sheathing it once more, “Yeah, no, everything’s fine. Just thought… I saw something. My watch over then?”

Kima sighed as she lessened the grip on her weapon, walking forward, “Yes. I’m restless and can’t sleep well anyway. You should rest up. We’ve got a long day of climbing ahead of us.”

Finn wouldn’t argue against the sleep, feeling the events of the day washing over him in exhaustive waves. He moved to where Kima had slept previously, the leaves and brush not as warm as it could’ve been, but it would do. He pulled one of his furred cloaks over him tighter before allowing himself to drift off into nothingness.

 

* * *

 

 

They got an early start that next day and, just as Kima said, they _absolutely_ had a long day of climbing. They stopped for small breaks every now and then but Kima was relentless in wanting to push ahead. So much so, Finn was extraordinarily surprised at just how much stamina this halfling woman had. Especially in the kind of armor she wore.

Thankfully they got to the point where they were lucky enough to find a path that climbed at a relatively steep incline they could walk along, which made things easier, but not by much. The mountain seemed to go on and on for what felt like forever and it was then that something hit Finn.

Breathlessly, Finn paused to ask, “Wait… You _do_ know where exactly this dragon is gonna be, right? Or are we… Just… Playing a guessing game. Hoping it might be where you **think** it is?”

“I don’t personally know where _exactly_ it is,” Kima answered a bit quietly, gaining a groan from Finn. “But I have a pretty good idea, so shove it. It’s in a large cave near the top of the first peak. Which, if we’re lucky, this path will lead us right to it.”

Finn looked up at the mountain, the clouds obscuring the top definitely growing closer but yet he still saw no cave. He didn’t even want to _begin_ thinking about how high up they were. He wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of heights.

“Come on,” Kima urged, continuing on once more. “The more you sit and whine about it, the longer it’ll take.”

Heaving a large sigh, Finn picked his feet back up once more and continued onward. About another hour of trekking passed before, finally, the sight of the path curving sharply into the mountain met them ahead.  As they rounded the curve, there sat the open mouth of a cave.

“See?” Kima offered hopefully as they came to a brief stop. She put her arms out towards it, almost in a showoffy fashion. Like she'd just smugly proven him wrong. “Cave. Y’know, didn’t you climb this _exact_ mountain range and, I don’t know… _Steal_ something from our sacred grounds of Bahamut? Does that sound familiar at all?”

Finn scoffed as they continued on into the cave, Kima fetching a torch and lighting it from her pack. “I’m not sure what you’re referring to. Can’t say that it sounds all that familiar.”

“Yeah, sure. That's what I thought,” Kima deadpanned, the light of the midday sun disappearing behind them as they traveled farther into the cave.

It was a dank, cold, and dark cave, stalagmites and stalactites littering most of its expanse. The floor was surprisingly smooth, a few bits of rock making its way onto the good 10-foot path now and then. The path ahead of them winded in slow turns but always had a bit of an uphill curve to it.

“Tell me then,” Kima spoke up once more, her voice echoing off the stone walls. She switched the torch from one hand to the next as they rounded a curve. “Are your friends as trustworthy as you? Or are they much more reputable and respectable?”

The cleric was cocking an eyebrow, eyeing her as he did so, “I’ll try _not_ to take offense at that.” But then he paused, thinking it over. While he hadn’t known them long, he’d probably be among the army of the Drow at this point if not for them. So in that case… “But they’re good people. _Really_. It was their idea to confront this whole situation head on. And they saved me back in the Underdark. So I think it’s fair to say they’re not the kind of trustworthy I am. Which, _for you_ , means much better things, I’m sure. Take that how you will.”

A small bit of silence settled before Kima was speaking, “Good. They must mean at least something to you if you’re standing up for their names. Maybe your morality isn’t as slimy as I thought.”

He just let out a bitter laugh, “ _Ahhahh.._ Thanks. I guess.”

Another hour of travel and their path had narrowed considerably. So much so, they had to start moving in a single file line, even squeezing through much narrower bits here and there. Bits of cold water ran down some of the sides of the cave. It was surprising how it was this cold and yet none of the liquid had frozen over.

“Think we’re getting close at all?” Finn suddenly asked, his patience with this cave growing nearly as thin as the crevices they had to squeeze through.

Kima opened her mouth to respond, but it seemed that she didn’t need to. The sound of a rumbling screech rocked their ears, to which Finn immediately covered his, Kima trying to as well despite holding the torch. It didn’t take a genius to tell that was the cry of a dragon. _Especially_ in Finn’s experience, it was a very, **very** immediately obvious and recognizable sound.

“Suppose that answers that,” Finn muttered in a whisper before Kima began walking forward once more, albeit at a much slower and lower pace.

Finally, the path seemed to be widening just by slightly, thankfully they were no longer squeezing through tight quarters to forge ahead. And before them, Finn could see beyond the torchlight the sudden and abrupt widening of the path into a large cave mouth. It even seemed to lead outside, the blustering winds sending a draft their way, though the exit was not immediately visible.

“ _Wait_ ,” Finn hissed, reaching out to grab at Kima’s shoulder. She stopped immediately, turning to look back at Finn. “It’s got to be here. _This_ is the cave. We should be careful.”

At that, the halfling nodded, turning her attention ahead once more. They continued forward, keeping low to the ground and making sure their footfalls were as silent as possible.

“You ever fought a dragon before?” Finn asked softly as they moved into the much more open space.

Kima whispered back, “No. Have you?”

“I have,” he settled with a huff. “They’re not fun.”

It seemed their conversation went on a little too long as suddenly the ground shook, a giant figure, roughly 15 feet tall, dropped down in the center of the cavernous room and screeched once more. The dragon's scales shone blue in the small bits of light drifting in from the open mouth of the cave; definitely the dragon they were sent to deal with. Within their minds, a crackling voice filled their psyche.

“ _Who_ is slinking about in my cave?! Why have you come?!” the dragon spoke, sounding quite young even within their minds.

Well, it seemed the jig was up. Stealth wasn’t a viable option any longer. Finn stood straight once more, readying his stance as he brought forth the arcane energies within himself to manifest into a burning fire at his hands. But it did not burn his hands, the flames licking harmlessly yet ready to fly out in a fury of power at a moment's notice.

“You’re outstaying your welcome, you big lizard!” Finn shouted, a sly grin on his features as the thrill of a battle was quickly brewing. “For god’s sake, you’re _frightening_ the children down below!”

A laughter tumbled through their minds as the voice spoke again, “Good! Then may they tremble all the more when they see I will slay all who come to intrude on my home!!”

Just as the dragon reared its head back, blue scales shimmering in the dim light, the faint sight of a blue glowing energy began to fill its throat. _Shit_. Finn needed to act now or he was going to get the shock of his life.

Finn immediately unleashed the fire from his hands, several small bolts of the flames jutting outward and homing in on the dragon, slamming into his skin and some even on his outstretched wings. Hurriedly, Finn was running around the dragon, if only to avoid his incoming attack. A large screech began but was quickly muffled by the strong and sharply sparking sound of lightning escaping his mouth.

The cave lit up in a spectacular fashion as the element bounced off the rocks and stone in striking waves. Finn could feel the electricity in the air, the smallest of hairs on his arms raising and no doubt causing the many long hairs on his head to go fraying.

Looking back over to the dragon, he could see Kima immediately charging toward him with a resounding battle cry, cleaving her large sword directly at the dragon’s side. It cried out as the blade found purchase, sweeping its claws her way to attack. She dodged in surprising speed, gearing up to make a second attack.

Sliding to a halt with a decent distance, Finn quickly spoke in Elven, calling upon Olidammara to bless Kima’s attacks, the faintest glowing of green and white energy flowing about her sword. She took no notice of it at the moment, simply swinging at the exact spot from before and seeming to make better purchase than the last time.

Once more, the dragon was building energy up within its throat, no doubt to hurl its lightning at Kima.

“Oh, _no_ you don’t,” Finn muttered. “Get out of the way, Kima!!”

Just as Kima brought her sword out from the beast, she quickly took several steps back, to which Finn immediately began charging his spell. From within, he called upon even more fire of magical auras, building the ball of flame up into a sizeable charge. With a quick thrust of his hands, he sent the ball of molten flame towards the dragon’s throat, making impact before he could let loose his electrical blast.

The flames made a large explosion, just barely missing Kima, causing them both to look away from the sheer brightness of it. Throughout it, it was hard to miss the crying of the dragon’s pain, the sudden and immediate ball of lightning breath came tumbling out of the fire and smoke and right at Kima.

She attempted to dodge too late, taking the full brunt of the electrical impact. She seemed to be reeling from it for several moments afterward, whereupon the winds of the cave picked up in a strong force. The dragon had taken to the air and was immediately flying toward Finn.

He noticed only a moment before it landed, diving out of the way but not fully in time. The dragon’s thick tail swished out, catching Finn as he was righting himself and sending him flying across the room. Only the wall stopped his travel, his body making a hard impact with it. All the air had been forcibly pulled from his lungs, leaving him devoid of air for what seemed like an eternity. He felt himself cough up blood once he gained his breath back and he was certain at least one of his ribs were broken. Or possibly several.

Sliding down to the floor, he felt as though he was about to blackout, but quickly regained his vision, albeit a little hazy. He looked up to see the dragon barreling at him, his eyes widening as a clawed hand came his way. Luckily, he dodged out of the way just in time, the sharp talons of the creature slamming into the stone and cracking it there. But the dragon seemed to anticipate such a movement.

With his other foot, the dragon was raking his claws against Finn, one in particular piercing his leg. He cried out in pain, more blood escaping his mouth. He fell to the side, now pinned by this dragon. Once more, he called the magical energies to his hands, this time sending a beam of straight fire directly against the dragon’s face.

It reeled back from the heat of the flame and Finn could feel the heat becoming unbearable on his own skin as well.

“Agh! _You fools!!_ ” the dragon sneered within his mind.

Cutting through the chaos was the familiar screaming of Kima followed by the dragon’s painful screech. Whatever she had done seemed to be enough to get the dragon to back off. Its claw dislodged itself from Finn’s thigh, one of his hands, no longer shooting flames, coming to cover it. He could feel the heat of blood pooling at his hands as he quickly muttered Elven to call forth healing energies. In a quick and green glow, the blood seemed to stop flowing so quickly and some of the pain seemed to ebb.

Now standing and looking over to the beast, he could see Kima was on top of it, sword delved deeply into its back. The dragon was trying its damndest to get her off, shaking her and trying to reach back for her while throwing his body in massive movements. But she was holding tight for the moment.

Reaching over to his side sheaths, he pulled his daggers out, squinting as he tried to hone in on where Kima had already struck. There were a couple places on the dragon’s side that looked like the scales had been forced off and its rough skin was exposed.

Taking a deep breath, Finn readied the first dagger, pulling it back in anticipation, aiming and timing it just right… Before letting one, two, then three daggers fly toward their marks. The first one just barely missed, scraping across its scales uselessly. The second lodged itself in the dragon’s wing. But the third actually hit its mark, delving deeply into the skin there.

Once more, the dragon cried out and spread its wings. It took to the air again, making a sweeping arc with Kima still aboard its back. Suddenly, it flew away from this area and down into the next, the expansion of the cave that they had yet to explore.

Without missing a beat, Finn was quickly moving to follow, even using misty step to get there quicker. He got there just in time to see the dragon land on its back at an odd angle, seemingly trying to trap Kima there. The ground shook and rumbled, rocks coming loose from all angles of the cave and crashing to the ground. It stood once more, crying out as it seemed Kima was still attached. _Damn_ , she was resilient.

Its flight and landing seemed to be the upper hand it needed, however. It reached back once more and seemed to finally find purchase on Kima, a scream of pain echoing through the air that could only have belonged to her. The dragon grabbed her and threw her across the room, her body slamming to the ground hard and sliding across the ground before coming to a motionless heap.

For the moment, the dragon seemed to be gathering itself and it was now that Finn noticed they were nearly outside again, the cave mouth opening up to the outside. The blistering winds whipped past them as the dragon laughed within his mind.

“May the children **_WEEP_ ** once I put your bodies on display!!”

Without thinking, Finn quickly bolted forward toward Kima’s motionless body, causing the dragon to make its move at the same time. Finn pushed and pushed, his leg throbbing in dull pain and he could feel the warmth of the blood beginning to trickle through as the wound no doubt opened again.

Once again, Finn misty stepped closer, giving him a small lead before he was moving to his knees at Kima's side, quickly trying to administer whatever healing he could. Her face was covered in blood and her armor had been cracked in several different portions; her breath was shallow. She needed his help _now._

Before Finn could do anything, however, he felt the sudden presence of the dragon behind him. He quickly turned, pulling the dwindling force of arcane heat to his hands to shove another stream of fire at the beast.

“ _Just die!!_ ” Finn cried out as he turned the blast of flames higher. “It’ll be better..!! For **_all_ ** of us!! If you just die! You _stupid_ fucking **_LIZARD!_** ”

The sensation of a rough and large grasp filled around his thin form, the claws digging into his sides as he realized the dragon had grabbed hold of him. Finn struggled, but its grip grew tighter.

Once more in Elven, Finn called out some healing words towards Kima, certainly not nearly powerful enough to rouse her to consciousness just yet, but hopefully enough that she would live. It had to be. _It had to._

The voice chuckled raspily within his mind, “You are both _far_ too small to best me. To ever think you could was your hubris robbing you of your lives blindly.”

The exhaustion of so many spells spent was becoming very evident upon Finn’s mind, knowing he didn’t have much left in him. With some of his last magical energies, he brought his hands together, pulling them apart to form a shortsword of a glowing aura.

With a single and fluid motion, Finn rammed the holy weapon deep into the blue dragon’s chest, blood seeping past as he pushed into a portion where scales had been knocked off. The beast cried out in agony, dropping Finn to the ground in a rough way.

For a short moment, Finn tried to regain the air that was knocked from his lungs, coughing out blood as he did so. He could feel the heat of blood trickling down the side of his face as well, the sight of the ribbon that kept his braided hair in place laying there on the ground. He heaved heavily and painfully as he finally gained his breath back, looking up to watch the dragon wrestle with the weapon stuck in its throat.

Looking over to Kima’s form just a short distance from him, he huffed a mirthless chuckle, “Where’s Bahamut when you need him… Huh, Lady Kima?”

Finally, the dragon was able to pull the blade from itself, tossing it to the ground as it shattered in a brilliant light of ethereal sparkles. Blood pooled heavily from its throat as it turned its head back to Finn. It looked like it was on its last legs-- but he knew that so were they. And the well from which he pulled his magical abilities from had run dry.

It was odd to be staring death in the face so strongly. Finn had nearly died several times in his century of life, coming close, having a brush with death, never meeting it fully. But right now, at this very moment, he felt like he was getting quite intimate with his own fate. It was coming towards him to claim him right then and there in the form of a dragon.

He wouldn’t go down easily, however. So he forced his body to stand, pushing himself past what should’ve been safe limits to gather magic into his hands as a tangible flicker of flame. His blue eyes burned with a fury of determination to see this through to the very end, to give death the biggest middle finger he could.

“I’m going to make the children _cheer_ , dragon,” Finn said, his voice weak but his words strong. “Shame you won’t be alive to hear it.”

Not another word entered Finn’s mind from the dragon before it began to rush towards him-- until it was suddenly struck in the face with what Finn could only make out as a lone dagger.

The dragon’s head shook but its momentum carried it forward, causing Finn to dodge out of the way towards Kima. He had to quickly pull Kima out of the way of its tail, realizing then that she was semi-conscious. The dragon crashed into the wall, rocks tumbling from the ceiling and pelting the creature.

Suddenly rushing toward the dragon was the lumbering and strong form of a bear, its growls echoing viciously through the cave. It was Trinket! Trinket caught the dragon off guard, using his back legs to leap up and sink his strong jaws into the dragon’s throat where blood already flowed generously.

Looking over to his left, there were the twins, Vex’ahlia already beginning to fire arrows at the beast and Vax’ildan running up towards it. He slid around swiftly, thankfully under the distracting cover of Trinket, before hopping up onto its head and delving two blades into the back of the dragon’s skull.

It cried out in sharp pain as it was now being assaulted in more ways than it had anticipated. Just as it looked to be on its last stand and trying to attack at Trinket, Vex loosed an arrowed that sunk true and deep into its right eye. And then it went limp, falling to the ground with a thunderous thud and nearly crushing Trinket as it did so.

Blood began to pool around the dead dragon’s body, mostly from its neck and from what Finn could see, Trinket was covered in it. It was surely a sight to see, even more odd that Finn was _beyond_ relieved to behold it.

As the twins quickly approached the elf and the halfling, Finn was simply laughing breathlessly as he pressed his back against the stonewall of the cave.

“Finnor!” Vax was calling as he approached his side, crouching down and looking over his no doubt completely disheveled and bloody form. “Are you alright?!”

“We got here as fast as we could,” Vex was going on as she crouched down to Kima, helping her barely conscious form up and supporting her. She looked over to the dragon. “What were you _thinking?!_ ”

Finn shook his head before looking over to Kima and motioning sorely over to her, “Ask her. This was _her_ idea. How did you two find us?”

“We spoke to the highbearer at the temple, she told us you were sent out here to _kill a dragon_ ,” Vax explained, hand moving out to clasp Finn’s shoulder carefully. “I’m glad we got here when we did.”

Trinket moved up beside Vax, groaning out in sad groans as he licked at Finn’s face. It caused Finn to laugh a bit but he was quick to cough painfully, wincing as he did so, “Missed you too, buddy. I’m alright. Probably got some broken ribs, though. Among, _ngh_.. other things.”

“You saved me…” Kima muttered huskily as she seemed to come to reality much more properly. She looked at Finn intently and with a graciousness to it Finn hadn’t seen before now. “I saw what you did back there.”

To say that Finn was a _little_ embarrassed she was actually more cognizant than he’d originally realized would be an understatement. He quickly tried to brush her off, “Yeah, well, _don’t_ think about it too much. Can we get out of here already? I’m **sick** of this mountain.”

“Wait,” Kima stopped him, pointing over to the dragon. “We need its horn. For proof. Then we can go. I’ve got a scroll of teleportation that’ll bring us back to the temple.”

“I’ve got it,” Vax went on, standing once more and pulling out his blades to begin taking it out from the head.

“You’re going to start a tab up on me for saving my ass at this rate, you know that, right?” Finn asked playfully towards Vex.

Vex laughed lightly, “Well, we were even before; you _did_ save us near the end at that portal. But I suppose this does put me and my brother one up on that.”

Once more, Finn laughed and he coughed, a bit of blood coming up with it. Vex moved over towards Finn now, laying her hand on her chest, “ _Easy_ , Finn, easy.”

Within a single moment, her hands began to glow a soft green light, his wounds and pain beginning to ebb away if by just a touch. She smiled up at him warmly.

“It’s not much,” she admitted, the glow fading. “I’m not one for much magic but I’m sure it should help a little, darling.”

Finn was actually.. _Surprised_. Not just at the fact that this ranger seemed to know a bit of magic, but that she’d even healed him to begin with. It was a nice change of pace with her usual shifty glances his way. Suddenly it didn’t hurt to breathe as much as before.

“Thanks,” the cleric finally said with a small smile. “Didn’t know they taught that kind of stuff at ranger school.”

Vex’s smile remained as she gave him a gentle wink, “You tend to pick up a few things here and there if you’re clever enough.”

“So would you say I’m _extremely_ clever in that regard?” Finn responded playfully yet again.

Vex’ahlia shot back with a shake of her head, “Don’t ruin the moment.”

Finally, Vax came back with the horn safely stored away within a bag that he gave to Kima. She pocketed it as they all stood, some with much more difficulty than others, before Kima handed the scroll over to Vax to perform the necessary preparations to open it.

“Finnor,” Kima spoke, clutching her side as she looked up to the elven man, face still covered in blood. “I just wanted to say… Thank you. You’re still a scoundrel but you showed some true colors in that battle. So consider me a little… Surprised. Pleasantly so.”

Finn just smiled as he shook his head, “Again, I’ll try not to take offense at that.”

Before their conversation could continue, it seemed that Vax had succeeded in opening the teleportation circle, a swirl of energy appearing on the wall before them, meshing vaguely into a pool of an image. From what Finn could tell, it had to have been the temple itself.

They all moved through the portal and were suddenly in much warmer and much safer surroundings, _much_ to the relief of the entire group.


	5. research and recuperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for sticking around and reading! I enjoy writing this fic immensely and I hope you all continue to enjoy reading!

After getting themselves more properly healed up (although Finn was certain that he was going to be sore for _years_ to come after that), Finn was cleared to meet with the highbearer herself for the first time. It wasn’t exactly something he looked forward to, for reasons that he’d rather not settle on for too long at a time. But he had to deliver the horn personally. And _alone_ , apparently. Adding all the more to the fact that he’d rather be miles and miles away from this very foundation.

Alas there was little choice in the matter.

Clutching the still slightly bloody bag with the small horn within, Finn was escorted into the main hall of the temple, a large and grand room made out of silver-tinted stone with long pedestals supporting the ceiling. Along the walls, there were several paintings depicting Bahamut himself in many different scenarios and situations, each one a mark in Bahamut’s history of worship and every single one Finn, unfortunately, knew by heart. And then, finally, one in particular caught Finn’s eye as he came to a halt before it.

Bahamut in all his beautiful and glowing platinum scales stood above a multi-headed dragon, the Queen of the chromatics herself, Tiamat. They were locked in a strong and waging battle, fire all around them, destruction littering every inch of the background, and at the forefront were Bahamut’s long and powerful teeth sinking into the red neck of Tiamat as she bared her teeth and claws at him. All her other heads were primed to strike, leaving the viewer in suspense for who the winner would be (but of course it would be Bahamut). 

It was an image that he knew incredibly well and when he was a child this particular painting frightened him, even to the point her had to cover his eyes each time he passed by it. Too many times had he clutched to his mother’s side, holding tight as to not get pulled into the painted battle. Strange the fears you had as a child.

“Finnor Lamaedir.”

The voice of a woman, older sounding yet kind, echoed through the large hall. It brought his attention away from the painting to look ahead, several steps at the end of the room leading up to a dais that held an altar, yet again a vaguely familiar setting. He really didn’t like being in here.

Before the altar stood an olive-skinned human woman in long flowing and silvery blue robes, her fingers interlocked casually and softly before her with relaxed arms. She had many wrinkles on her face, most of them no doubt from a life of smiles and laughter, her long white hair pulled back into delicate braids that flowed halfway down her back. Behind her and even the altar were a couple of guards, donned in silvered armor and at rigid attention.

“Approach, my child,” she urged softly, taking a step down the stairs of the dais as Finn finally began to move closer.

Wordlessly, for once, Finn offered out the bag to her, more than just a little uncomfortable with the entire experience and simply wanting to flee. An urge he had to resist. She took the bag and with that, before she could even examine it further, Finn was already turning to begin leaving.

She called out to him sternly but not loudly, “ _Wait_. Do not leave just yet.”

Finn could feel his shoulders tense up as he came to a halt, a deep sigh slipping through in silence. Lingering there, he contemplated just leaving. What would they do? Make him go kill **_another_ ** dragon? _Probably_. 

He squeezed his eyes shut before opening them and turning just to look back at her, “I killed the dragon, you got its horn. What more do you want from me?”

With unhurried movements, Highbearer Leena was opening the bag and looking within, confirming it was exactly as he said. She gave a small nod before looking back to one of the guards that stood beside the dais. Offering out the bag, the guard took it and stepped back, remaining within reach if they were needed any further.

“Come closer,” Leena motioned carefully, a gentle wave of her hand.

Finn grit his teeth as he properly turned and moved closer to the woman, now standing before her at a reasonable distance. He kept his face as hard as he possibly could have, watching her carefully, watching her every movement and change of expression. Leena looked to him with deeply brown eyes, searching his features wordlessly before she was stepping closer.

Still silent, she reached forward and brushed her hand gracefully over his chest where the mark had been placed. Her brows furrowed and Finn could feel some sort of divine magic coursing through him. It almost made him wince; being a cleric, such a magic wasn’t _uncommon_ to feel. But every god had their own, well-- brand of it. And Bahamut’s always left something **sour** at the back of his mouth.

Nonetheless, he allowed it, trying to keep his expression hard, allowing an edge to fall into his gaze down at the woman.

“I sense the presence of Bahamut within you,” she muttered thoughtfully, almost sounding surprised at this as she allowed her hand to linger softly.

Finn couldn’t help the scowl, his words a bit spiteful, “Yeah, because you branded me. Forget about that already?”

The human was shaking her head, “No, my child. You were touched by his presence long before you ever stepped foot into this temple. Before you ever stepped foot into this side of the world. An old, _old_ touch of his magic and his presence. Lingering and holding onto you.”

And it was then that Finn realized she must have meant during his childhood, his adolescence. During the many hours and years of his life that his parents made him throw away because of _their_ faith and _their_ cause and **_their_ ** duty. _Not his_. _**Never** his._

“You hold such scorn for Bahamut,” Leena went on in a troubled tone, her white brows pulling together almost like she was upset by this. “Tell me: what has happened to you that you hold such contempt for Bahamut? Such contempt for a god that holds nothing but goodness, righteousness, and justice in his deeds?”

Nothing but a long and hard silence fell upon Finn’s lips, his features looking much harder than he’d ever worn in years. He breathed deeply and evenly as he stared the highbearer down. That’s a story that he would never tell. She’d have to force a truth spell on him and even then he was good at talking around it. Never addressing it.

The silence stretched as she expected something from him, _anything_. And yet nothing came. She sighed, “Your anger and resentment is strong. It is such a shame. But perhaps... Perhaps it is not _your_ fault, my child.” Her voice was sympathetic and sorrowful as she finally pulled her hand away. Perhaps it would’ve made Finn feel better… _If he was still a child._

“What does this mark on me mean?” Finn asked quietly, his tone distant and cold. “Why is it still there?”

Highbearer Leena took a deep breath before explaining, “That mark is to show you still owe much to Bahamut. He is but a god of justice and due to the circumstances you and your friends face, there is a greater justice that he believes you must deal with first.”

Finn cut in, “Just tell me what it means without all the fluff bullshit. Get to the point.”

“If we have further need of you, you must answer to our call,” she explained precisely, pointedly even. “Nothing more, nothing less. Until that mark is gone, there is still a debt to be paid.”

Shaking his head, Finn gave a heavy huff of a sigh. He didn’t like this. Not for one second. And you better believe he was going to try and find some way to remove it himself.

Nonetheless, he responded with a curtness to his tone, “ _Fine_. Can I go now?”

Highbearer Leena simply nodded, taking a step back and interlocking her hands together as they rested downward, “You may, dear elf. Do take care. May Bahamut bless and guide your travels.”

And with that, Finn was turning and leaving the large hall with thoughts weighing heavily on his mind.

He thought that he’d been freed from the damn dragon in the sky all those years ago-- but it seemed he was wrong. And now he had a mark on his chest to prove that it would be haunting him for the rest of his long, long life. Maybe he’d get _real_ damn lucky and get part of his chest sliced off. Would certainly save him the trouble of trying to get it off himself.

Despite feeling the express need to just leave this place entirely, Finnor actually found himself thinking back to Kima. He hadn’t seen her since they’d made it back and she was rushed away to be administered aid. Her injuries were, from what he could tell, actually _worse_ than his own. Something in his gut pulled him toward her as he asked some of the guards and was pointed in the right direction. 

The entrance had no doorway, just an open entryway with two lanterns sitting on either side of the door. As he stepped before it, he could see a long room within, many simple medical beds pushed against the walls and already several people laid within those beds. Patients, it seemed, some who were sick or injured. At the very end on the right, there he could see a familiar halfling, golden hair, though devoid of her usual armor, and shoving back a dragonborn cleric with a protest.

That was _definitely_ Kima. It brought the hint of a smile to the corner of Finn’s lips as she shooed the man away and with a sigh, the golden scaled dragonborn went to tend to another patient at a nearby bed. And there Kima was left, fiddling with a particular bandage on her arm as he approached.

“Odd seeing you without all that armor,” Finn began, tone edging into playfulness. It quickly turned teasing, however. “Here I’d been convinced it was glued to your body.”

“Finnor,” she stated as she stopped fiddling with the bandage. Instead, she rested each of her hands on either side of the bed, fingers clasping the edge. “I thought you’d have been long gone by now.”

“Yeah, me too,” Finn muttered a bit, now starting to wonder why he hadn’t already just left. The twins were waiting outside for him as it was.

Moving a touch closer, Finn got a better look at her face, seeing that along her right eye was a long and jagged and gruesome mark, probably where the dragon had pulled its claw along her face trying to get her off its back. It had obviously been tended to but even healing magic had its limits when it came to deep wounds. He winced a bit at it but made no mention of it nonetheless.

Sighing to himself, and wholly uncertain _why_ he was doing such a thing, he reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small yet hefty purse full of coins. He tossed it at her, almost too quickly for her to react, but she caught it just in time. Kima looked it over, turning it in her hands before she opened it, eyes widening as she got a good look at the gold within. Surprise pulled her brows up as she opened her mouth to speak, looking back to the elf.

“Again, _don_ ’t think on it too much,” Finn said quickly as he brought a hand up to stop her, not daring to meet her gaze. “It’s just a little leftover of what I had after I escaped the Drow. From the, you know… _Relic thing._ ”

The silence settled for a moment as it seemed Kima was taking in the gesture. There was a soft smile in Kima’s words, a smile that Finn didn’t even need to see to know it was there, “Perhaps I was wrong about you. We certainly got off on the wrong foot but I think this is all a better start.”

Finn chuckled a bit, “Yeah, I quite like the whole _‘saving your ass from a dragon’_ start **way** better than the last. Can we go with that as our official meeting?”

“Alright, don’t push it,” she chided him, pulling the strings closed on the purse of coins. “I’ll give it to ya, you _did_ save my ass. But let’s not forget what got us in that situation in the first place.”

Bringing a hand up, Finn waved away her words dismissively, “Oh, please, you could’ve just made me do some community service or something instead of _killing a dragon._ ”

Kima snorted, almost incredulous, “What’re you talking about, that **_was_ ** community service.”

“Right, _well_ ,” he began backing up then, hands folded behind his back with a content smile upon his lips. “Much as I’d like to stick around talking all these _wonderfully_ fun semantics with you, I’ve got places to be. People to see. Civilizations to save. Y'know.”

Bringing up her arms, she began fiddling with the bandage yet again, seeming like she was torn between pulling it tighter and simply just pulling it off completely. “Yeah, I’ll bet,” she responded, sarcasm clear. “Maybe we’ll meet again, Finnor.”

“Maybe if you’re _lucky_ ,” Finn gave her a wink and a sly smile before turning and beginning to walk out.

Coming to the entrance, now wholly glad to finally be leaving this place, he rounded the corner to see suddenly before him, there stood Vex with her arms crossed and a smile on her lips. A very _knowing_ smile that set him a little on edge.

His body stiffened as he stopped suddenly, eyebrows knitting together as he watched her, “ _Why_ ’re you looking at me like that?”

“I **know** what you did in there,” Vex teased, her smile growing.

Finn pursed his lips tightly, taking a quick breath. He cleared his throat, shaking his head with a defensive tone, “You know _absolutely_ nothing.”

Vex could only laugh as he pushed past her, making his way out of the temple and she was following suit, continuing, “Your conscience must’ve not been as clear as you thought, huh?”

“Sure, whatever, think what you like,” Finn spoke quickly, trying to brush her off. “Where’s your brother?” A nice change of subject.

Vex’ahlia laughed as they exited the temple, Trinket waiting just outside. The bear gave a gentle groan as he began padding along beside Vex, keeping pace as the half elf went on, “He’s back at Heldore’s. Come on, you big ol’ softie. It’s getting late, we should call it a night.”

And he would not grace the softie comment with _anything_ but a huffed silence.

 

* * *

Back at Heldore’s, Finn was able to treat himself to a warm bath and a fresh change of clothes, the couch beneath him the best comfort he’s had in _days_. He brushed through his long locks of fire red hair with his fingers, relishing in how clean it finally was. After trekking through a mountain and dealing with a dragon, it was a relief to be in such a warm and comfortable and clean environment. The kind of environment where a dragon _wasn_ ’t barreling towards him.

Finn pulled down the collar of his tunic, seeing the symbol of Bahamut emblazoned on his chest. Still just sitting there, staring at him, almost taunting him. Like he could hear it **_mocking_ ** him. He scowled at it, scrutinizing hard before realizing that it wasn’t as strong as it was the first time he noticed it. A _little_ more opaque.

Suddenly bringing him out of his thoughts was the familiar voice of Vax as he stepped up beside him, “What are you doing?”

Finn quickly let go of the fabric of his shirt, letting it fall flat against his chest once more as he looked up to see the half elf. Within Vax’s hands were two cups, both steaming, wafting an aroma of sweet bitterness.

“Nothing,” Finn brushed his question aside, though probably not as smoothly as he could have, as Vax handed him one of the cups. He took it, cradling it before taking a careful sip. It was a warm and pleasant tea. “So did you make any progress on this whole-- _situation_ while I was away?”

Vax moved to settle in the chair just across from Finn’s, holding his cup and looking into it as he answered, “I’m afraid not realyy. After we finalized things with the council, we made our way to the temple to check on you. By that time you and Kima were, _apparently_ , long gone. We were told where you were going and why, so we quickly followed your trail best we could. Seems we got there just in time.”

Finn laughed a bit mirthlessly, “Yeah, you could say that again... “ Silence fell over Finn’s pursed lips as he considered this, looking back over to Vax. “You actually came to check on me… Why do that? You had what you needed from the council. Why go through the trouble?”

It seemed Finn’s question caught the rogue a bit off guard, but he quickly adjusted his tone to something chiding but kind, “I will say… That you were an _absolute_ and **complete** idiot that got yourself and, in the end, _us_ into that situation… But as I told you, you’re still my friend. And I don’t leave friends to die on top of a mountain to a fucking dragon.”

What was this feeling within Finn? It was something warm and fuzzy. And _completely_ embarrassing for himself. He didn’t know how to handle such a kind statement from Vax. He’d never expected it and certainly, on some level, he thought he didn’t deserve it. So it just left him in a stunned silence, eyebrows gently raised, as he tried to process this information.

“Besides,” Vax’ildan went on when Finn wasn’t responding. “I think we’ve got some business with the Drow we need to attend to. And it’d be hard for us to do that with you stuck in a cell or dying on a mountain.”

Almost without realizing it, Finn was smiling. A very genuine and warm smile as he looked down to the cup in his hands, a small chuckle escaping, “Wow, Vax, I uh… Don’t know what to say…” Finally, Finn looked back up to the half elf. Vax was smiling as well. “Thank you. _Really_. Can’t say I’d be standing here right now had it not been for you and your sister.”

Vax was then furrowing his brows as his smile fell, “So why’d you do it? _Why_ accept to kill a dragon practically all on your own?”

Finn shrugged, “Well, at the time, it seemed the only way to get out of that cell. It was either kill the dragon or be stuck in there for years. Believe it or not, I happen to _like_ my freedom.”

“You sure it wasn’t because you felt a little guilty for what you did?” Vax was teasing, his smile returning a bit. “Not even a _little_ bit?”

“Maybe I just felt like killing a dragon,” Finn said sarcastically, playfully, accenting it with a cheeky shrug of a single shoulder. “Haven’t you ever gotten the random and primal urge just to go out and…” He let a pregnant pause follow, clutching his hand into a fist. “ _ **Kill** a fucking dragon?_ ”

That got a good laugh out of Vax as he shook his head, “No, can’t say I have. Living is a thing I tend to put into consideration before _ever_ thinking about taking on a dragon.”

Finn scoffed, “Oh, _please_ , how often can you say that you get to go out and kill a dragon?”   


“Not very and I’m quite fine with that, actually,” Vax responded, a bouncy chuckle playing along his words.

Finn joined in, their shared laughter sticking around for a few moments before it settled, the only sound being the snoozing of Trinket as he laid in the corner, fast asleep.

“ _Oh_ , nearly forgot,” Vax’ildan chimed in once again. The rogue leaned forward to settle his cup on the nearby table as he stood and moved over to the bulk of his equipment on the floor nearby. He rummaged through it as Finn watched on curiously, seeming to find what he was looking for as he stood and approached Finn once more.

Offering out to the cleric within his hand was a single green ribbon. A very _familiar_ ribbon. Finn could feel his eyebrows raise in a bit of surprise.

“You’d dropped it back in the cave,” Vax explained as the other elf reached up to take it from his hand. “Figured you might be missing it. So I swiped it real quick before we, you know… Zipped back to town.”

Looking it over, the ribbon was dirtied in some places, even tattered, but it was definitely the same ribbon he’d been wearing for what felt like years now. He couldn’t even rightly remember where he’d gotten the thing in the first place. Not that it really mattered.

“Thanks, Vax,” the cleric gave him a smile. “I actually-- _completely_ forgot about it.”

Vax was moving to pick up his cup once more, giving a small chuckle, “It _has_ been quite the long day. But you’re welcome. We should get some rest; we’ve got a lot to do tomorrow.”

Finn simply nodded, “Yeah, of course.”

And without another word, Vax was grabbing his tea and stepping away, moving into another room where Vex and Heldore were settled. Once more, Finn was looking down to the ribbon as he clutched it. The moment lasted just a second longer before he was washing himself of it with a shake of his head.

He was getting _far_ too emotional these days.

 

* * *

Sore didn’t even _begin_ to describe Finn that following morning. Being sore would be a blessing. This was something else completely and entirely. Hell, he’d take being hungover instead of this. Whatever it was.

“ _Fuck me_ , everything hurts,” Finn groaned as they walked through the streets of Westruun, the morning sun already high within the sky.

“Oh, quit being such a big baby,” Vex’ahlia immediately shot back. “The Cobalt Reserve’s not very far from here anyway.”

It was the first stop of the day. The first stop of _possibly_ many, depending upon just what kind of leads they could come across within so many books in an expansive library. They’d received permissions to every level of the house of books, even the ones reserved for the council themselves (though of course, there were still tomes and scrolls to be kept away from even some members of the council). All they had to do was _find_ the relevant information which would be a task completely in and of itself.

Finn wasn’t a fan of reading in general. Too many words made his head hurt and that was the _only_ thing in his body that didn’t hurt right now. But that was probably going to be changing quite quick. He’d need a drink after today.

Eventually they all found themselves before a large, domed structure made of polished silver stone. Its design was surprisingly ornate, the stone making a strange yet intricate spiral upwards along the high dome top. At the front were a hefty set of stairs that led up to the entrance, marked by several pillars before a pair of double doors.

A surprising amount of people were entering and exiting, people of all kinds moving in and out, going about their business. Finn had to admit that he didn’t know much about this place so he couldn’t quite fathom why a library was as busy as _this_. Then again, there were a lot of nerds out there, **exactly** the kind of people that spent their lives cooped up inside a stuffy room with only a dwindling candlestick at their side.

“Looks like this is gonna be a nerd convention,” Finn commented as they approached the steps, having to weave around a particular human woman carrying a precarious stack of books in her arms. “Let’s maybe try and find what we need then get out _soon_ as we can so we can find the nearest tavern.”

Vex snorted as she crossed her arms, “You _already_ want to go drinking? It’s **literally** ten in the morning, darling.” Trinket groaned a bit, almost like he was backing up what Vex was saying. Which was a completely ridiculous notion but there it was.

“I like to think I’m quite the expert on day drinking,” Finn offered with a pointed shrug. “Takes a lot to get a man to that point in his life and that’s saying something.”

“Yeah, that’s saying it’s pretty _sad_ ,” Vex simply deadpanned, though there was a hint of amusement buried somewhere within those words. “C’mon, the more you sit around complaining the longer it’ll take.”

And without waiting for a response, Vex was already making her way up to the steps, Trinket in tow after he gave a small snort.

“We’re probably going to be here a while,” Vax’s voice was suddenly beside Finn now, drawing his attention to the taller elf. He gave Finn a small but supportive smile, clasping him on the shoulder. “My sister does have a point though. Day drinking is _not_ what you should be proudest of.”

Just like his sister, he left Finn before he could even get out a response, leaving the red head feeling vaguely offended. His lips pursed, almost something like a pout, as he watched the twins walk up the steps to the entrance before he huffed a sigh and followed them to the doors.

Vex was already being stopped by what looked to be a couple of human men dressed in deep blue and white robes of sorts. If there was anyone to fit a monk stereotype, these two would be the prime candidates. One was bald and older, the other, younger, had an undercut with a high and short, dark ponytail atop his head. And it seemed they were stopping the twins from entering as Finn approached.

“-- _sorry_ , but we do not allow animals inside the reserve. It’s simply policy. Safety and sanitary concerns.”

Ah, but of course. Trinket seemed like he was always an issue wherever they went, trying to get into someplace but they were _always_ impeded because of the bear. It made sense, of course, no one really wanted a grown ass bear tramping around in their place. And every time, Vex tried to vouch for him, growing sad at the prospect that they were so unwelcoming to a fucking bear.

_ Only Vex. _

“He’s a gentle bear,” Vex pleaded, placing a single hand atop Trinket’s head. The bear groaned in response, giving the best damn puppy eyes Finn had ever seen on a bear, of all things. “No one will even notice, I swear it. Isn’t that right, Trinket?”

Almost in the pinnacle of utmost irony, the doors opened, whereupon a female dragonborn’s eyes met with Trinket, immediately widened, and a screech came from her gravely throat before she was backing away, slamming the door behind her. The sound of her panic was evident even beyond the door, leaving the elves and the monks in an awkward silence. 

Finn had to purse his lips hard, barely holding back a snort of laughter. Unfortunately, it seemed that Vex heard him, the smallest glare shooting his way like an unexpected dagger. Then again, perhaps it _should_ ’ve been expected. Finn quickly held the rest of the laughter back, much more successfully this time.

Vex’ahlia sighed, rubbing Trinket’s head once more, “Alright, _alright_ , he’ll stay out here.”

Turning to the bear, Vex leaned down to kiss the top of his head, squishing his cheeks with her hands, “We’ll be back soon as we can, okay buddy? Go back to Heldore’s if we take too long.”

Trinket, giving a huff and a groan that somehow combined a sadness with affirmation, watched as Vex, Vax, and Finn were then lead inside by one of the monks standing guard. That bear really knew how to convey such clear emotions it was actually astounding every time Finn saw it. Smart bear indeed.

Once they were within, still following the bald man, Finn was surprisingly astonished by what he saw. It was expansive, rows upon rows, at least three to four stories high, spiraling staircases, and stacked bookshelves sat before them. Many desks were littered with more books, though the shelves were already stocked with them, and many individuals sat at those desks. Mostly reading but some taking notes, speaking quietly with others, everyone accompanied by at least one monk. Many other monks, dressed very similar to the man that was leading them, walked about with handfuls of books, stacked just at eye level.

Okay, so maybe it _was_ a nerd convention. But this nerd convention was, well… Pretty impressive, he had to admit it.

Stopping before what looked like a reception desk of sorts, behind it sat a petite elven woman, her ears long and thin, skin quite tan, blonde hair pulled up into a simple ponytail, and angular features looking down upon the papers before her.

“Arryn, we have some very important visitors,” the bald man explained, gaining the elven woman’s attention. She looked up, her eyes so white that it almost looked like she didn’t have pupils. Wow, she was-- _very attractive_. “They are here with clearance from the council for all levels. See to it that they are taken care of.”

She smiled, thin lips giving a warm curve as she nodded, “Of _course_ , Mel.”

Ah, so Vex must’ve already filled them in on their approved access. He probably definitely missed that part of the conversation.

Now seemingly satisfied they were in good hands, the bald man, apparently named Mel, gave her half a bow before turning to give the same bow to the group of elves. He was then stepping away, probably returning to his duties guarding the entrance, no doubt an exhilarating job. Now looking to Arryn, the elven woman continued to give them all a gentle smile as she stood.

Finn could now see she was thin, but there was a definition to her body, her arms, which were exposed from her fitting robes, were definitely toned. Right then and there, Finn was _absolutely_ convinced she could kick his ass. And honestly? He would **thank** her for it.

“As per the rules here, I will have to accompany you throughout the reserve,” her voice was soft but there was an underlying certainty, a strength to it as well. “I do hope you understand.”

“Of course,” Vax chimed in, giving her a genial smile as he nodded. “We’d truly appreciate the help, actually. We’re looking for any information on the Drow, Lilith, and Ranaghar. Really anything Underdark related. There wouldn’t happen to be any kind of information on that here, would there be?”

The elven monk seemed to contemplate his words, really chewing them over and seeming like she was trying to jog her memory for the right answer. Arryn chewed her lip, crossing one arm over her torso before cradling the elbow of the other, fingers brushing along her pointed chin.

“I _do_ believe we may have a section on the Underdark,” she admitted slowly with a nod, eyeing Vax as she did so. “There is bound to be information on the Drow there as well, being as interconnected as they are. As for Lilith and Ranaghar, these are names I’m not familiar with. Though I’m no expert on the particular subject, I’m sure you can find something if they are important enough.”

Vax’s smile grew a touch, “Very well, lead the way, then.”

With a nod, Arryn turned to lead them toward the nearest spiral staircase, bringing them up to the third floor and down along the isles of bookshelves. She continued deeper and deeper, Finn watching the shelves as they passed them in slight awe. What was, perhaps, most amazing was the fact that there was very little dust to be found anywhere. Either this place was frequented enough to never gather any dust or it was just _that_ well kept.

Although, judging by how many people were hanging about, picking up books, putting them back, and reading them, perhaps it was more the former than the latter. But he had to imagine there was at least some effort put into the upkeep.

Eventually they reached the back wall, upon which were a set of double doors. She pushed one of them open to reveal a smaller room with shelves built into the walls. Atop the ceiling was attached an ornate chandelier, decorated with complicated glass in the form of intertwining spirals that held a burning, blue flame within. It gave the room a strange glow, intermingling with the other lanterns attached to the walls with warm golden glows.

In the middle were two long desks, the very end of the room holding a large window that overlooked the rest of Westrunn to the west. It was a decent view. Though it looked as though there was no one within this room, thus no one to appreciate the view.

The books lining the shelves built into the walls were quite thick, possibly thicker than most of the other books within the rest of the reserve-- though Finn was certain that wasn’t an _entirely_ accurate notion. Along these shelves as well, something the cleric found a bit odd, was that they were draped with dark chains. The chains didn’t seem attached to any of the books so it was quite the oddity.

“Most of these shelves _here_ ,” Arryn began, moving over to their right to the row of books behind the draping chains, “ _should_ hold the information you are looking for. _Let me see…_ ”

She trailed off as she began sifting through them, her delicate fingers gliding over the spines as she began to pluck one after another off the shelf before placing it on the nearby elongated table. Finn and the twins watched for several moments before Finn was asking the one question burning on his mind in that moment.

“What’s with the chains, exactly?” his question was blunt, to the point, as he stepped forward to drag his fingers over the chains. “Didn’t realize _shelves_ could be prisoners.”

That got a demure laugh out of Arryn, one hand coming to cover her mouth as she did so. _Cute_. She turned her attention to Finn for a moment, “Ah, no, it’s more of a security feature. These books are very old, you see. Very important. Taking anything from these shelves causes the chains to make noise, like so.”

And just as she said, the chains clinked quite noisily as she removed another book, turning to place it atop the table. Watching as she did so, she noticed that Vax was already beginning to sift through one, that book in particular holding quite the brittle pages. He turned them carefully but with a purpose and determination in his features.

“Well, that’s an impressive idea, actually. You monks are _quite_ clever,” Finn commented with raised brows, continuing to follow Arryn as she brought another book off the shelf and set it aside. “Though what if no one was around to hear the chains? Or what if someone casted silence? Then what?”

Yet again, an amused snicker came from Arryn as she tried to reach up to one of the higher shelves, pressing up on her tiptoes with the tips of her fingers just barely breaching the edge. “ _Magic is… Not allowed. There is… An anti-magic field... To some… Degree..!_ ”

She was struggling, trying her best to get the book near the top. It was thinner than the rest, actually, and looked newer than the rest as well, but just out of reach all the same. Finn simply gave a resigned smile before stepping closer as he pressed a hand to her shoulder, “Allow me.”

She looked up to the taller elf, a bit of embarrassment on her features as she nodded and stepped back. Finn then reached up, just able to grab it, before pulling it down and handing it to her with a charming smile.

“As _cute_ as it is to see you trying to get that book, I can help with the ones higher up,” Finn remarked, grin growing as he let go of the book after holding onto it with her for, _probably_ , just a touch too long. But he was flirting. **_Definitely_ ** flirting. And he thought that maybe he saw the beginnings of a blush on her olive cheeks.

_ SMACK! _

Suddenly a bout of air was escaping his lungs as he felt the impact of something flat and hard against his back, giving a cry of pain as he turned to see Vex’ahlia as the culprit. Dark book in hand, she gave a look of disapproval before she said two simple words, “ _Stop it._ ”

“ **Ow!** _What?!_ What the hell did **_I_** do?” he cried out in a high pitched protest, bringing a hand back to begin rubbing at where she struck.

“Not reading, _that’s_ what you did,” she settled as she set the book back down on the table. “We didn’t come here for you to flirt, we came here to get information. Now _c’mon_ , get to it, darling. Read, read.”

Looking back over to Arryn, Finnor could see that she was actually looking like she was trying to hold back a bit of laughter. Though he had to imagine it was at his own expense. Nonetheless, he cleared his throat, giving a nod her way.

“Anyway, _thank you_ , I’m sure we can find something in these,” Finn affirmed, trying to recover from the reprimand.

“Already have,” Vax cut in suddenly, prompting everyone to look his way. One of his fingers traced the words in the old, brittle paper as he read them aloud. “Lilith is the name foretold by old legends and prophecies to be a true descendant of Lolth, the Queen of Spiders, one of the more prominent goddesses worshipped among the Drow. Although widely known as Lilith, she has gone by many other names, among them being Kyotl, Adnas, Hubris, and _Noftris_. It is said that she aspires to raise the Drow to a higher position than themselves, invoking a total and complete annihilation of those that do not follow her into such an endeavor.”

Vax paused for a moment, the room suddenly and surprisingly still as he swallowed, continuing, “Only such a cleansing would occur when the souls of a _hundred thousand living beings_ , willing or not, were consumed in her name. However, the truth to such a legend will likely never be proven as the Drow are more likely to turn to infighting within their own cities and communities in the Underdark than to work together to achieve such a goal of appeasing the descendant goddess.”

Yet again, silence pierced the room as Vax finished. The revelation brought a new light to the whole situation if such information could be believed and relied upon. And it made the situation _that_ much more grim.

“ _A hundred thousand souls…_ ” Vex finally broke the tentative silence, her arms slowly crossing over her chest. Her voice was quiet, contemplative, wary. “What was happening to those elves back there, back when I found you two…”

“ _That_ had to be the consuming part,” Vax’ildan finished his sister’s thought, resting his weight on his hands as they lay flat against the table. He turned to look over to Vex, eyeing her with an unspoken conversation only twins could have. “There’s _no_ way there were a hundred thousand souls in there, though. There can’t have been more than a thousand, _maybe_ two.”

“Judging by how long I’d been there before it happened,” Finn was speaking up now, his expression growing hard and his tone grave, “I feel like _we_ might’ve been the guinea pigs. That they were waiting for the perfect time with the perfect amount of elves to round up so they could start testing out their soul sucking.”

The sound of a crinkling page turning filled the following silence before Vex was offering, “We can’t know for sure whether you were the first ones or if they’ve been doing this for a while. A couple thousand people, a couple thousand _elves_ for that matter, would surely take some time to find, subdue, and take to the Underdark. We can’t be certain either way.”

“I’m sorry,” Arryn’s voice poked into the conversation, a strange uncertainty to her words. Finn and Vex both looked over to her, Vax still buried deeply within the book’s words. “But are you saying what this book describes is _true?_ That it’s _actually_ happening?”

Finn and Vex both shared a quick look, uncertain of whether they should be truthful or not. It seemed that the three had forgotten about the other elf in the room, their escorting monk.

Turning his attention back to Arryn, he gave her a small smile, “It’s actually for this collaboration story we’re working on.” His lie was smooth, fluid, sounding as truthful as if he were simply stating his own name. “We get _really_ into our work. The council got this silly and extravagant request from some playwright who, _apparently_ , paid a lot of money to get some of the best writers to do some research for his book or play or _whatever_ it is.”

With a reassuring smile that came naturally, Finn gave a dismissive wave of his hand, “We’re really quite the method writers, really makes the story we’re trying to tell believable. Looks like we had even _you_ into it.”

There was a small wave of relief upon Arryn’s face as she gave a small, breathy chuckle of a sigh, seemingly almost _embarrassed_ of her serious reaction. It looked as though she bought exactly what Finn said. “Oh, _I apologize_ , it sounded so real. I do love a good story. Who’s this playwright, if I may ask?”

“Some know-it-all, goes by the pen name of Wicked Gambit,” yet again, Finn lied. “We should actually probably be writing all this down. Would you mind getting us some paper and a quill or two, beautiful? Would _really_ appreciate it before the ideas flutter away from us.”

A small blush began to crawl along her cheeks and the tips of her slender ears before she was biting her bottom lip in a smile, nodding as she began to walk off, “Oh, _yes_ , of course. I’ll be right back with that, no problem.”

And with that, she was walking back out of the room with a purpose and a quickness in her gait.

Finn finally looked over to Vex and Vax, both of them actually staring at Finn in what he could only decipher as some incredulous surprise. He had to admit, it was _almost_ flattering in a way. He simply gave a bit of a smug smile as he snorted, “ _What?_ ”

“Wow, you really _are_ quite the liar, aren’t you?” Vex asked rhetorically, brows raising. “Although, have to say that was one of the _stupidest_ lies I’ve ever heard. Playwright? Researching for a story? _Really?_ ”

Finn gave a shrug, “Hey, it worked! I’m _very_ good at coming up with **_very_ ** convincing lies, alright? It's a talent. I just think we maybe need to keep this on the down low, don’t you? Maybe _not_ try to stir up fear in the public? We were just talking about innocent elves getting their souls sucked from their bodies to annihilate anyone that isn’t a Drow _right_ in front of an _innocent elf._ ”

“Finnor _might_ have a point,” Vax concured, turning to lean one hand on the table. “We’re just going to have to go with that story Finn just spun because I _doubt_ Arryn’s going to leave us be on our own for the rest of the visit.”

“Y’know, _you_ were the one that started reading about it out loud, brother,” Vex reminded her twin with a small hint of a smirk at the corner of her lips.

At that, Vax’s features grew into a scowl, looking almost like he wanted to stick his tongue out at her. Hell, he just might have had Arryn not returned. So instead, he simply responded, “Yes, well, at least I’m _actually_ doing the research and reading. _Unlike **some** people._ ”

Moving over to the table, Arryn set down a small stack of parchment along with a couple of inkwells with quills dipped into them. Behind Arryn’s back, Finn just caught Vex sticking her own tongue out at Vax, which garnered a snicker from Finn, though he did his best to hide it. _Siblings_.

“I hope these will be enough for you,” Arryn said as she finished placing the items on the table. She looked to each of the other elves with a smile and a nod. “I will keep looking for any other relevant books in here, I’m sure you want to get to work. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

With a smile and nod from Vax, he responded, “Of course. Thank you _so_ very much.”

And now, as Arryn stepped off back to the shelves to scour for more related to what they needed, Finn and Vex settled themselves at the desk with Vax, each grabbing a book of their own to begin going through, one page at a time. They could only hope that they would find more information. Especially on Ranaghar, one of the biggest unknowns in all of this.


End file.
